characterized by, delivered, or occurring in rapid succession.
rapid-fire questions; rapid-fire events.
Military. discharging in rapid fire.
rapid-fire rifles.
discharging, operating, etc., at a rate more rapid than normal.
a rapid-fire staple gun.
firing shots rapidly
denoting medium-calibre mounted guns designed for rapid fire
done, delivered, or occurring in rapid succession
First recorded in 1885–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sanz said the rapid fire had been complex and the majority or even all of the victims may have been foreign nationals.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Beni Baningime was invalided out of the action, and in rapid fire Michael Steinwender, Stephen Kingsley and Alexandros Kyziridis went down.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
“Whether it was offers, calling kids, it was rapid fire all the time. Every day was life or death.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
“This would yield locally rapid fire growth with any new fires,” Schoenfeld said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2025
She typed away on a keyboard, red nails tap-tapping in rapid fire.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
Following the emergency meeting earlier this year, Cursor began pushing out rapid-fire upgrades to Composer.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
Starting Thursday, you may find it easier to place rapid-fire trades in stocks and options as a rule dating back to the dot-com era officially goes off the books.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
From rapid-fire reviews to emotional reactions, creators are shaping reading habits at scale and #BookTok has more than 77 million posts.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
Now for some rapid-fire ideas: Kercher suggests the Stoneview Nature Center, which is a plant-filled city sanctuary nestled in Culver City’s Blair Hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
Behind him, house after gorgeous colonial house passed in rapid-fire succession, their colors winking at us through her window.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
