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• rush
  rush

  verb (used without object)

  to move, act, or progress with speed, impetuosity, or violence.
• Rush
  Rush

  noun

  Benjamin, 1745–1813, U.S. physician and political leader: author of medical treatises.

rush

¹ American  

[ruhsh] / rʌʃ /

verb (used without object)

• rushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rushed,
  past participle,  past
• rushing
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• rushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rushed,
  past participle,  past
• rushing
  present participle

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. Movies. rushes, daily.

11. Also called flash.  Slang. the initial, intensely pleasurable or exhilarated feeling experienced upon taking a narcotic or stimulant drug.

12. adrenaline rush.

    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 American  

[ruhsh] / rʌʃ /

noun

1. any grasslike plant of the genus Juncus, having pithy or hollow stems, found in wet or marshy places.

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.

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Rush ³ American  

[ruhsh] / rʌʃ /

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.

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rush ¹ British  

/ rʌʃ /

verb

1. to hurry or cause to hurry; hasten

2. to make a sudden attack upon (a fortress, position, person, etc)

3. to proceed or approach in a reckless manner

4. 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

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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

rush ² British  

/ 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. short for rush light

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rush Idioms  

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

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rusher
  noun
• rushlike
  adjective
• unrushed
  adjective
• rushingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• rushing
  present
• rushed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rush
  simple
• rushes
  simple
• have rushed
  perfect
• has rushed
  perfect
• am rushing
  progressive
• are rushing
  progressive
• is rushing
  progressive
• have been rushing
  perfect progressive
• has been rushing
  perfect progressive

Past

• rushed
  simple
• had rushed
  perfect
• was rushing
  progressive
• were rushing
  progressive
• had been rushing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rush
  simple
• will have rushed
  perfect
• will be rushing
  progressive
• will have been rushing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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; see also 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

Explanation

To rush is to hurry or move very quickly, like when you rush to get to class on time or rush to catch the subway instead of waiting for the next one. Rush implies urgency — you need to get somewhere, or do something, fast. You can also rush someone else: "Don't rush me, I like to stay after the movie and watch the credits!" It's a noun, too: "She's obviously in a rush to get somewhere." A "rush job" has an immediate deadline, and "rush hour" is the busiest time of day for drivers in a rush to get to work, or to go home afterward.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rush Rush rushes rushed rushing

Cybersecurity stocks have been a hot trade this year, with investors reasoning that they could benefit from a rush of spending tied to artificial-intelligence threat risk.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Ahead of the meeting, rhetoric from Washington and Beijing has underscored only deepening acrimony and distrust over their rush to dominate the technological frontier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

He accused the government of "trying to rush this whole plan through".

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

“There is not enough time, even for a rush request, to have these envelopes corrected and produced,” a county official told the Tallahassee newspaper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

His self-satisfied expression makes me recall how people, more than exhaustion, cold nights, and hot days, made the land rush horrible and desperate.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

It was at UCB where he first crossed paths with celebrated clown teacher Philippe Gaulier, whose former students include Sacha Baron Cohen, Rachel Weisz and Geoffrey Rush.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

One researcher tells Ms. Rush how much he’ll miss Antarctica after the expedition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

He hit the bar from the spot before making it seven, with further goals from Rush, McMahon and Nicol sealing the club's biggest victory in domestic competition.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

But in the Gold Rush era it was taken away and, later, used by the logging industry, reshaping the landscape.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

After he visited with Mrs. LeMaigre and determined that she was battling yellow fever, Rush began to change his tactics.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Ryan Christianson finished with 151 yards rushing and one touchdown on 31 rushes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Too late, a UN security guard rushes in with a fire extinguisher.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

With black smoke belching high into the sky, Lobga staggers some 90 seconds before collapsing in flames and a U.N. security guard rushes over blasting an extinguisher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Intel is also expecting 2027 capital expenditures to be even higher as it rushes to meet customer demand, Zinsner says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Voxy rushes to the door, diving through the opening into his cell.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Retailers have also rushed to the courthouse to sue over competing private-label snacks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Corum rushed for a team-best 54 yards, Williams had 41 yards and a touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Running back Kenneth Walker, signed by Kansas City in the offseason, rushed for a career-high 173 yards and scored two total touchdowns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The officer's next recollection was being rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

He and Katherine had rushed through the leftover chili so they could get to Chip’s house.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Another nurse, Razia Noreen, is then seen rushing into the ward, emerging seconds later with one of the babies who turned out to be the only one to survive.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Many of them own homes, but he says the ones that don’t aren’t necessarily rushing to buy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The revival of Yemen's civil war, dormant since 2022, has left Riyadh rushing to respond.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Guess finished the night completing four of nine passes for 56 yards, while rushing for 19.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

To my horror, I heard someone rushing back up from the bottom of the stairs.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Related Words

• barrel
• bolt
• break
• charge
• chase
• dash
• dispatch
• fly
• hustle
• press
• push
• run
• scramble
• scurry
• shoot
• sprint
• zip