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

“They don’t want old moo-out-to-pasture me. They want the jack rabbit, they want the young blood. They want him and they want his friends.”

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2016

The jack rabbit is found mostly on the western plains and is the largest of the American hares.

From Science of Trapping Describes the Fur Bearing Animals, Their Nature, Habits And Distribution, With Practical Methods For Their Capture by Kreps, Elmer Harry

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