bunny
Americannoun
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Informal. a rabbit, especially a small or young one.
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Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. a pretty, appealing, or alluring young woman, often one ostensibly engaged in a sport or similar activity.
beach bunny; ski bunny.
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Chiefly British. a squirrel.
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Australian and New Zealand Slang. a person imposed upon or made a fool of; victim.
adjective
noun
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Also called: bunny rabbit. a child's word for rabbit
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Also called: bunny girl. a night-club hostess whose costume includes rabbit-like tail and ears
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informal a mug; dupe
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slang a devotee of a specified pastime or activity
gym bunny
disco bunny
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slang talk, esp when inconsequential; chatter
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slang deeply dissatisfied or discontented
Sensitive Note
The meaning “pretty woman” is sometimes used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. For instance, a beach bunny is an alluring female who frequents the beach only to meet male surfers. But bunny was originally (and still is) used as a term of endearment for a girl or young woman.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bunny
1600–10, dial. bun (tail of a) hare or rabbit, in Scots: buttocks (< Scots Gaelic bun bottom) + -y 2
Explanation
Bunny is another name for a rabbit, the soft long-eared mammal that's commonly kept as a pet and hops around on strong hind legs. Bunny is an informal word that comes from the Scottish bun, also a pet name for a rabbit. Some etymologists think it derives from an earlier meaning of bun in Scottish, "tail of a hare." You're most likely to refer to a rabbit as a bunny if you're a child, if you're talking about a pet (rather than a wild rabbit), or if you're referring to the Easter bunny.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“This next song is only a week old,” she said Saturday to introduce “Hate” — another loyalty test passed with no trouble by an audience peppered with bunny ears and Glinda wands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
"He voted for the Easter bunny over the tooth fairy," Vance said of his son.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
And every summer, he trains like the Energizer bunny, guided by his father, the former director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
When the vessel later returned to the rig the other bunny was found hiding in a forklift.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
A big fat bunny was curled up in Daisy’s lap just as though he belonged there.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
It’s all just bravado and illusion in a show where the magician has no bunnies left to pull from his top hat.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Two bunnies were initially brought ashore before another was later found in hiding.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
Wallace has noticed prices for her Easter favorites, such as Russell Stover’s milk chocolate Easter bunnies, have taken a bigger chunk out of her budget each year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
You don’t have to say, “You are manipulative and controlling,” or “You are high maintenance and don’t pay your way,” or, in this case, “You leave a trail of dust bunnies in your wake.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
No matter how many times Percy killed them and watched them crumble to powder, they just kept re-forming like large evil dust bunnies.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
