Word.ws English Dictionary

wild-goose chase

wild-goose chase noun: a futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.

Noun

wild-goose chase (plural wild-goose chases)

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) A futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.
    • I went on a wild-goose chase all over the town looking for that adapter until I discovered they no longer make them.
    • Diagnosing this software application's problems is a wild-goose chase because it is built in an environment that has poor debugging tools.

Synonyms of wild-goose chase

All synonyms of wild-goose chase

Forms of wild-goose chase

pluralwild-goose chases
alternative formwild goose chase

Origin of wild-goose chase

Early recorded use refers to a type of 16th century horse race where everyone had to try to follow the erratic course of the lead horse, like wild geese have to follow their leader in formation. Mentioned in 1593 in the English poet Gervase Markham’s book about horsemanship. Also mentioned in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 4 by the character Mercutio: “Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.” Mentioned in Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Common use in the current may be the origin for the sport sense.

Questions about wild-goose chase

What does wild-goose chase mean?
Wild-goose chase means a futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.
What part of speech is wild-goose chase?
Wild-goose chase is a noun.
What is the plural of wild-goose chase?
The plural of wild-goose chase is wild-goose chases.

Words near wild-goose chase in the dictionary

  1. wild-cards
  2. wild-cat
  3. wild-cats
  4. wild-caught
  5. wild-eyed
  6. wild-goose chase
  7. wild-goose chases
  8. wild-goose plum
  9. wild-man
  10. wild-men
  11. wild-type

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wild-goose chase (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-wild-goose chase.ogg.

Cite this entry: “wild-goose chase.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wild-goose_chase. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.