rush

¹

[ ruhsh ]

verb (used without object)

1. to move, act, or progress with speed, impetuosity, or violence.

   Synonyms: urge, speed, run, hasten

2. to dash, especially to dash forward for an attack or onslaught.
3. to appear, go, pass, etc., rapidly or suddenly:

   The blood rushed to his face.

4. Football. to carry the ball on a running play or plays.

verb (used with object)

1. to perform, accomplish, or finish with speed, impetuosity, or violence:

   They rushed the work to make the deadline.

2. to carry or convey with haste:

   to rush an injured person to the hospital.

3. to cause to move, act, or progress quickly; hurry:

   He rushed his roommate to get to the party on time.

4. to send, push, force, impel, etc., with unusual speed or haste:

   to rush a bill through Congress.

5. to attack suddenly and violently; charge.
6. to overcome or capture (a person, place, etc.).
7. Informal. to heap attentions on; court intensively; woo:

   to rush an attractive newcomer.

8. to entertain (a prospective fraternity or sorority member) before making bids for membership.
9. Football.
   1. to carry (the ball) forward across the line of scrimmage.
   2. to carry the ball (a distance) forward from the line of scrimmage:

      The home team rushed 145 yards.

   3. (of a defensive team member) to attempt to force a way quickly into the backfield in pursuit of (the back in possession of the ball).

noun

1. the act of rushing; a rapid, impetuous, or violent onward movement.
2. a hostile attack.
3. an eager rushing of numbers of persons to some region that is being occupied or exploited, especially because of a new mine:

   the gold rush to California.

4. a sudden appearance or surge:

   Seeing the old photo set off a rush of tears.

   You’ll experience a massive rush of adrenaline as you find yourself in free fall.

5. hurried activity; busy haste:

   the rush of city life.

   Antonyms: lethargy, indolence, sloth

6. a hurried state, as from pressure of affairs:

   to be in a rush.

7. press of work, business, traffic, etc., requiring extraordinary effort or haste.
8. Football.
   1. an attempt to carry or instance of carrying the ball across the line of scrimmage.
   2. an act or instance of rushing the offensive back in possession of the ball.
9. a scrimmage held as a form of sport between classes or bodies of students in colleges.
10. rushes, Movies. daily ( def 4 ).
11. Also called flash. Slang. the initial, intensely pleasurable or exhilarated feeling experienced upon taking a narcotic or stimulant drug.
12. adrenaline rush ( def ):

    The sheer ecstatic rush in that moment was the best feeling on earth.

13. Informal. a series of lavish attentions paid a woman by a suitor:

    He gave her a big rush.

14. the rushing by a fraternity or sorority.

adjective

1. requiring or done in haste: rush work.

   a rush order;

   rush work.

2. characterized by excessive business, a press of work or traffic, etc.:

   The cafeteria's rush period was from noon to two in the afternoon.

3. characterized by the rushing of potential new members by a sorority or fraternity:

   rush week on the university campus.

rush

²

[ ruhsh ]

noun

1. any grasslike plant of the genus Juncus, having pithy or hollow stems, found in wet or marshy places. Compare rush family.
2. any plant of the rush family.
3. any of various similar plants.
4. a stem of such a plant, used for making chair bottoms, mats, baskets, etc.
5. something of little or no value; trifle:

   not worth a rush.

Rush

³

[ ruhsh ]

noun

1. Benjamin, 1745–1813, U.S. physician and political leader: author of medical treatises.
2. his son Richard, 1780–1859, U.S. lawyer, politician, and diplomat.

rush

¹

/ rʌʃ /

noun

1. any annual or perennial plant of the genus Juncus , growing in wet places and typically having grasslike cylindrical leaves and small green or brown flowers: family Juncaceae Many species are used to make baskets
2. any of various similar or related plants, such as the woodrush, scouring rush, and spike-rush
3. something valueless; a trifle; straw

   not worth a rush

4. See rush light
   short for rush light

rush

²

/ rʌʃ /

verb

1. to hurry or cause to hurry; hasten
2. to make a sudden attack upon (a fortress, position, person, etc)
3. whenintr, often foll by at, in or into to proceed or approach in a reckless manner
4. rush one's fences
   rush one's fences to proceed with precipitate haste
5. intr to come, flow, swell, etc, quickly or suddenly

   tears rushed to her eyes

6. slang.
   to cheat, esp by grossly overcharging
7. tr to make a concerted effort to secure the agreement, participation, etc, of (a person)
8. intr American football to gain ground by running forwards with the ball

noun

1. the act or condition of rushing
2. a sudden surge towards someone or something

   a gold rush

3. a sudden surge of sensation, esp produced by a drug
4. a sudden demand

adjective

1. requiring speed or urgency

   a rush job

2. characterized by much movement, business, etc

   a rush period

Derived Forms

• ˈrushˌlike, adjective
• ˈrusher, noun

Other Words From

• rush·ing·ly adverb
• un·rushed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rush¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb rushe(n), ruishe, from Anglo-French russher, russer, Old French re(h)usser, re(h)user, ruser, from Late Latin recūsāre “to push back,” Latin: “to refuse”; noun derivative of the verb; recuse, ruse

Origin of rush²

First recorded before 900; Middle English risch(e), ris(s)e, rich, Old English rysc, risc, rix; cognate with Dutch, Middle High German rusch, obsolete German Rusch, German Rausch

Word History and Origins

Origin of rush¹

Old English risce, rysce ; related to Middle Dutch risch , Norwegian rusk , Old Slavonic rozga twig, rod

Origin of rush²

C14 ruschen , from Old French ruser to put to flight, from Latin recūsāre to refuse, reject

Idioms and Phrases

see bum's rush ; fools rush in where angels fear to tread ; mad rush ; (rush) off someone's feet .

Synonym Study

Rush, hurry, dash, speed imply swiftness of movement. Rush implies haste and sometimes violence in motion through some distance: to rush to the store. Hurry suggests a sense of strain or agitation, a breathless rushing to get to a definite place by a certain time: to hurry to an appointment. Dash implies impetuosity or spirited, swift movement for a short distance: to dash to the neighbor's. Speed means to go fast, usually by means of some type of transportation, and with some smoothness of motion: to speed to a nearby city.

Example Sentences

As you say, Neil, the Washington pass rush can be a problem generally.

From FiveThirtyEight

Most vaccines take at least five years to go through clinical trials, and there have been questions around whether Covid-19 vaccines are being “rushed through.”

From Singularity Hub 

I found that creating time and space on Friday mornings makes me more present in those discussions, rather than squeezing people in during the rush of the week.

From Fortune

She was rushed to Howard University Hospital where she was pronounced dead the next day.

From Washington Blade

They’re the same reason why some venture capitalists aren’t rushing to be a part of the cannabis high.

From Fortune

There is the smell here of an indecent rush for scapegoats, even before we know what really caused this crash.

From The Daily Beast

In a show about single women, Sex and The City was always in a rush to get to the altar—and with a man there waiting.

From The Daily Beast

He headed west in 1860 for health reasons and to join the gold rush in Colorado.

From The Daily Beast

And it might not only be in Britain that politicians rush to legislate.

From The Daily Beast

No more than three minutes later, a handful of policemen rush in and tell us to get out of the store.

From The Daily Beast

Thus he continued to rush over the frozen sea during a considerable part of that night.

From Project Gutenberg

And as he said those words he made a quick rush toward Mr. Meadow Mouse.

From Project Gutenberg

They are faced by a horrid redoubt held by machine guns, and they are to rush it with the bayonet.

From Project Gutenberg

When he assails a calf, the cow will rush upon him, and one toss from her horns is sufficient to kill him.

From Project Gutenberg

When they shall rush in unto Jacob, Israel shall blossom and bud, and they shall fill the face of the world with seed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blitz
• dash
• flood
• flow
• scramble
• stream
• surge