bunny
Americannoun
-
bunnies
plural
-
Informal. a rabbit, especially a small or young one.
-
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.
-
Chiefly British. a squirrel.
-
Australian and New Zealand Slang. a person imposed upon or made a fool of; victim.
adjective
noun
-
Also called: bunny rabbit. a child's word for rabbit
-
Also called: bunny girl. a night-club hostess whose costume includes rabbit-like tail and ears
-
informal a mug; dupe
-
slang a devotee of a specified pastime or activity
gym bunny
disco bunny
-
slang talk, esp when inconsequential; chatter
-
slang deeply dissatisfied or discontented
Sensitivity
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:
Armed with the above ad and welcomed by a grinning private guard calling, “Here bunny, bunny, bunny!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Still, with all the aforementioned accomplishments, and decades later, Steinem said that her naysayers used her bunny work in an attempt to discredit her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
The show proceeds with the fluid choreography of Positions before Grande dons her famous bunny ears for a slinky version of The Boy Is Mine.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
One especially noteworthy moment in the 23-minute segment came when Tapper asked if Miller had held his daughter’s blue bunny — which she needs to sleep — hostage.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Babycakes, a white angora bunny that looked like a giant fluff ball, lived in a pen in the back of the room, near the bookshelves.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
It was walking distance from the subway and had a lovely if nonfunctional fireplace, and when the baby bunnies nested in our herb garden, I thought, Yes.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
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
Easter baskets might be lighter on chocolate bunnies and eggs this year as consumers are balking at what they’re being asked to pay for the candy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
“Think how you’ll grieve for all you’ll leave behind,” she sings to a herd of otters, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, bunnies and kangaroos fleeing Oz for the safety of the Yellow Brick Underground Railroad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
“May I ask why you are sleeping with the dust bunnies under the stairs?”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
