jackrabbit

[ jak-rab-it ]

adjective

resembling a jack rabbit, as in suddenness or rapidity of movement: The car made a jackrabbit start when the traffic light turned green.

verb (used without object)

to go or start forward with a rapid, sudden movement.

Origin of jackrabbit

First recorded in 1925–30; see origin at jack rabbit

Other definitions for jack rabbit (2 of 2)

jack rabbit

noun

any of various large hares of western North America, having very long hind legs and long ears.

Origin of jack rabbit

1860–65; jack(ass) + rabbit; so named from the size of its ears

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jackrabbit in a sentence

While he sat enjoying the beauty of the scene he observed a war eagle chasing a jack-rabbit.
Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph Gilmore
The jack-rabbit continually dodged and circled, trying to escape as the eagle swooped toward him.
Prairie Smoke (Second Edition, Revised) | Melvin Randolph Gilmore
A friend of mine, by the name of Stebbins, once followed his dog in a chase after a jack rabbit.
Bill's School and Mine | William Suddards Franklin
Tawahinkpayota came forth from the antelope head, while Black Hawk and Antler rose up where the jack-rabbit and calf had lain.
Red Hunters And the Animal People | Charles A. Eastman
"It was not so much the angry carpenter who waked me as the little jack rabbit you're father to," Martha said.
Blind Man's Lantern | Allen Kim Lang

British Dictionary definitions for jack rabbit

jack rabbit

noun

any of various W North American hares, such as Lepus townsendi (white-tailed jack rabbit), having long hind legs and large ears

Origin of jack rabbit

C19: shortened from jackass-rabbit, referring to its long ears

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

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