ant mill

noun

A phenomenon where a group of army ants, separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle and eventually dying of exhaustion.

Meanings

nounant mill (plural ant mills)

plural ant mills

  1. A phenomenon where a group of army ants, separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle and eventually dying of exhaustion.

    Synonyms: death spiral

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA phenomenon where a group of army ants, separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle and eventually dying of exhaustion.

Also see
Cite this entry
APA

ant mill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ant%20mill

MLA

“ant mill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ant%20mill. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ant mill,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ant%20mill.

Source: ant mill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.