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:
“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
When firefighters first arrived, they were quickly forced out of the building due to “extremely rapid fire growth” and assumed a defensive position, battling the blaze with high-volume hoses, according to the Ontario Fire Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
The Internet Freedom Foundation said the compressed timeline would transform platforms into "rapid fire censors".
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
“There was a time when it wasn’t uncommon to hear rapid fire, like you would hear somewhere in the jungle in Vietnam,” says Inspector Edward Messadri, who commands the police precinct in Brownsville.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
The rest of “The Crazy Uncle Joe Show” unravels as a barrage of rapid-fire ad libs that makes the 90-minute improv show feel like a comedic sprint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
Mr. Flux’s flashes were rapid-fire by then, with photos of frozen fighters spooling from the camera and falling to his feet like large, square confetti.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
