rabbit hole

[ rab-it hohl ]

noun

1. a tunnel made in the ground by a rabbit; a rabbit burrow.
2. Informal. a strange, disorienting, or frustrating situation or experience, typically one that is difficult to navigate: I have been down the rabbit hole of building a new home.

   I had a history of depression and occasionally fell down dark, deep rabbit holes from which only medication and therapy could pull me out.

   I have been down the rabbit hole of building a new home.

3. Informal. a time-consuming distraction of one's attention as happens when clicking through online links, following social media posts, or pursuing information:

   After diving down an internet rabbit hole and poring over treatments, risks, and so on, she felt even more panicked.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rabbit hole¹

First recorded in 1660–70; rabbit hole def 2 was first recorded in 1935–40, from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Example Sentences

If they fall too far down the rabbit hole, such as by believing in Trump’s Big Lie that he won the 2020 election or the QAnon claims of Jewish world control, they often alienate themselves from loved ones who do not share those extreme views.

From Salon

You might cringe at the word hustle, but that doesn't mean you have to go down a rabbit hole of vapid brofluencers.

From Salon

He said researching autism had become "yet another rabbit hole I've disappeared down".

From BBC

Looking at the breadth of Donald Trump’s victory, then, it would be foolish to go too far down any particular rabbit hole of wrong tactical decision made here, inexact position on this issue there.

From Slate

I think one of the reasons we’re so far down the rabbit hole is that we have a Supreme Court that doesn’t actually value factuality much at all.

From Slate