rabbit
any of several soft-furred, large-eared, rodentlike burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae, allied with the hares and pikas in the order Lagomorpha, having a divided upper lip and long hind legs, usually smaller than the hares and mainly distinguished from them by bearing blind and furless young in nests rather than fully developed young in the open.
any of various small hares.
the fur of a rabbit or hare, often processed to imitate another fur.
a runner in a distance race whose goal is chiefly to set a fast pace, either to exhaust a particular rival so that a teammate can win or to help another entrant break a record; pacesetter.
British Informal. a person who is poor at sports, especially golf, tennis, or cricket.
Idioms about rabbit
pull a rabbit out of the hat, to find or obtain a sudden solution to a problem: Unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of the hat by next week, we'll be bankrupt.
Origin of rabbit
1Other words from rabbit
- rab·bit·like, rab·bit·y, adjective
Words that may be confused with rabbit
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rabbit in a sentence
Male relatives have hunted for rabbits, pheasants, duck and deer for decades.
Even before the war, Americans were being encouraged to eat rabbits.
Considered a “patriotic food” during World War II, rabbits were raised alongside the venerable victory gardens on the homefront.
Chef Alex Armstrong prepared the meal for participants while Kaye schooled them in the art of reconstructing ex-rabbits.
Wood pigeon, pheasant, partridge, grouse, peacocks, hares, wild rabbits, and waterfowl are all dietary staples.
Without a word, the four children sank down behind the bushes like frightened rabbits.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerShe's right smart younger than I am, and I've got eight children and five grandchildren, peart and lively as rabbits.
The Cromptons | Mary J. HolmesShe liked to turn off the road and gallop across the trackless ways, sometimes frightening rabbits and coyotes from the sagebrush.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur ChapmanBut with the first shot both men left the house by the mill and scurried like rabbits for the open fields.
The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts RinehartI have a printing-press, a collection of birds' eggs, and some white bantams and some rabbits.
Harper's Young People, November 30, 1880 | Various
British Dictionary definitions for rabbit
/ (ˈræbɪt) /
any of various common gregarious burrowing leporid mammals, esp Oryctolagus cuniculus of Europe and North Africa and the cottontail of America. They are closely related and similar to hares but are smaller and have shorter ears
the fur of such an animal
British informal a novice or poor performer at a game or sport
(intr) to hunt or shoot rabbits
(intr ; often foll by on or away) British informal to talk inconsequentially; chatter
Origin of rabbit
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with rabbit
see pull (a rabbit) out of a hat.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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