bunny

[buhn-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bunny ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural bun·nies.

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

designed for or used by beginners in skiing: a bunny slope.

Origin of bunny

1600–10, Americanism; dial. bun (tail of a) hare or rabbit, in Scots: buttocks (< Scots Gaelic bun bottom) + -y²

Usage 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bunny

rodent, hare, tomato, dish, buck, cony, capon, doe, cuniculus, cottontail, chinchilla, lapin, coney, lagomorph, babe, angel, doll, broad, honey, chick

Examples from the Web for bunny

Contemporary Examples of bunny

And likewise the Easter bunny, a bizarre pagan myth if ever one there was.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa
Jay Michaelson
December 5, 2014
One Love notwithstanding, on the night of the gig, Bunny demanded his £10,000 fee in cash before he would take to the stage.
Inside London’s Wild Brixton Academy: How Gangsters and Kurt Cobain Made It London’s Top Music Venue
Tom Sykes
September 29, 2014
A pioneering photographer in the 1950s, Bunny Yeager discovered the iconic Bettie Page and helped establish pin-ups.
The Queen of the Playboy Centerfolds
Nina Strochlic
May 31, 2014
Eventually I gave way to Bunny's insistence and lost my virginity, appropriately enough, in H.G. Wells's spare bedroom.
House of Cads: Growing Up Amid the Weirdness of Bloomsbury
Jessica Ferri
April 10, 2014
No one feels it necessary to tell Angelica that Bunny was once her father's lover.
House of Cads: Growing Up Amid the Weirdness of Bloomsbury
Jessica Ferri
April 10, 2014

Historical Examples of bunny

It isn't a Bunny Hug or Tango, or anything distracting for lookers-on.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
For the moment she had forgotten Nelly's offences, and only remembered that she had been Bunny's friend.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan
He had sent home a beautiful mug of beaten silver for Bunny.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan
Presently the luncheon-hour was over and Bunny had been carried off for his afternoon's outing.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan
She was not going to see Bunny and his mother again, not for a long time at least.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan

British Dictionary definitions for bunny

bunny

noun plural -nies

Also called: bunny rabbit a child's word for rabbit (def. 1)

Also called: bunny girl a night-club hostess whose costume includes rabbit-like tail and ears

Australian informal a mug; dupe

slang a devotee of a specified pastime or activitygym bunny; disco bunny

British slang talk, esp when inconsequential; chatter

not a happy bunny British slang deeply dissatisfied or discontented

Word Origin for bunny

C17: from Scottish Gaelic bun scut of a rabbit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bunny

1680s, diminutive of Scottish dialectal bun, pet name for "rabbit," previously (1580s) for "squirrel," and also a term of endearment for a young attractive woman or child (c.1600). Ultimately it could be from Scottish bun "tail of a hare" (1530s), or from French bon, or from a Scandinavian source. The Playboy Club hostess sense is from 1960. The Bunny Hug (1912), along with the foxtrot and the Wilson glide, were among the popular/scandalous dances of the ragtime era.