jack rabbit

American

noun

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

jack rabbit British

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of jack rabbit

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

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.

It looked like the work of a jack rabbit, he said, which must have been trying to get at the moisture in the stem.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2021

I grew up loving and rescuing animals: two badgers, a gopher, a jack rabbit, five baby squirrels and a great horned owl.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2018

A jack rabbit hopped down my driveway and disappeared into the yard.

From Washington Post • Sep. 27, 2016

The zoo also has three of the world’s four largest rodents, including the Patagonian cavy, a sweet-tempered mammal that looks like a cross between a jack rabbit and a dog.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2014

One boy may have caught a badger alive; another a coyote; another a jack rabbit; another a huge turtle.

From Farm Boys and Girls by McKeever, William Arch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023