rapid fire
noun
a rate of firing small arms that is intermediate between slow fire and quick fire.
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rapid fire
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rapid-fire
rapid-fireadjectivecharacterized by, delivered, or occurring in rapid succession.
rapid fire
1 Americannoun
Military.
rapid-fire
2
American
[rap-id-fahyuhr]
/ ˈræp ɪdˈfaɪər /
adjective
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characterized by, delivered, or occurring in rapid succession.
rapid-fire questions; rapid-fire events.
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Military. discharging in rapid fire.
rapid-fire rifles.
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discharging, operating, etc., at a rate more rapid than normal.
a rapid-fire staple gun.
rapid fire
British
noun
adjective
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firing shots rapidly
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denoting medium-calibre mounted guns designed for rapid fire
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done, delivered, or occurring in rapid succession
Etymology
Origin of rapid-fire
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
See Examples For:
The combination of extreme heat, gusty winds and low humidity brings a “significant risk” of “large plume dominated fires with rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior,” according to forecasters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
“If a fire starts, there is a high risk of rapid fire growth with increased potential of plume-dominated behavior across the interior valleys, mountains and deserts,” said the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 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
The Internet Freedom Foundation said the compressed timeline would transform platforms into "rapid fire censors".
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
“Were you reading the book or writing a book?” he grumbled, but before I could say something back, he pulled out a notebook and started asking questions rapid fire.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
His particular brand of cultural fluency — a rapid-fire mix of food, fashion, basketball, politics and pop culture — is what made the “Gua Bao Bad Boy” impossible to categorize.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Following the emergency meeting earlier this year, Cursor began pushing out rapid-fire upgrades to Composer.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
The “pattern day trader” rule, implemented in 2001, officially ends Thursday, making rapid-fire stock and options trades easier.
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
My heart’s punching my ribs now, rapid-fire like a jackhammer, and my muscles tense with the energy that will catapult me forward.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
