rabbit

American  

[rab-it] / ˈræb ɪt /

noun

PLURAL

rabbits

PLURAL

rabbit

1. 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.

2. any of various small hares.

3. the fur of a rabbit or hare, often processed to imitate another fur.

4. Welsh rabbit.

5. 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.

6. British Informal.  a person who is poor at sports, especially golf, tennis, or cricket.

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idioms

1. 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.

rabbit British  

/ ˈræbɪt /

noun

1. 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

2. the fur of such an animal

3. informal  a novice or poor performer at a game or sport

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verb

1. (intr) to hunt or shoot rabbits

2. informal  (intr; often foll by on or away) to talk inconsequentially; chatter

rabbit More Idioms  

1. see pull (a rabbit) out of a hat.

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Usage

Where does rabbit come from? There's just something about the names of some of the most familiar animals. Like dog, the origin of the word rabbit is obscure. But, at least we are few hops closer to a source with rabbit than we are with dog.Found in Middle English, rabbit originally meant "young rabbit, bunny," and was most likely borrowed from a French word. Scholars point us to the Walloon robett and the dialectical Dutch robbe. But from there, it’s an etymological rabbit hole.Walloon is a French dialect chiefly spoken in southern and southeastern Belgium and neighboring regions in France.Unsure about the difference between a rabbit and a hare? We've got you covered!

Other Word Forms

• rabbitlike adjective
• rabbity adjective

Etymology

Origin of rabbit

1375–1425; late Middle English rabet ( te ) young rabbit, bunny, probably < Old North French; compare Walloon robett, dialectal Dutch robbe

Example Sentences

"Never losing the belief that we can pull off a rabbit from the hat."

From Barron's

Clicking on a message board can send you down a rabbit hole for hours.

From Salon

Judy, the first rabbit to join the city's police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department.

From Barron's

Basically, the recipe is asking cooks to simmer their rabbit or chicken in its own broth, enrich it with ground almonds, sweeten with sugar and ginger and serve it forth.

From Salon

"People are still going online, going down rabbit holes," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• bunny
• coney
• cony
• hare
• lagomorph
• lapin