rush
verb (used without object)
to move, act, or progress with speed, impetuosity, or violence.
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rush
1 American
[ruhsh]
/ rʌʃ /
verb (used without object)
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rushes,
present (3rd person singular)
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rushed,
past participle, past
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rushing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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rushes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rushed,
past participle, past
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rushing
present participle
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to perform, accomplish, or finish with speed, impetuosity, or violence.
They rushed the work to make the deadline.
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to carry or convey with haste.
to rush an injured person to the hospital.
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to cause to move, act, or progress quickly; hurry.
He rushed his roommate to get to the party on time.
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to send, push, force, impel, etc., with unusual speed or haste.
to rush a bill through Congress.
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to attack suddenly and violently; charge.
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to overcome or capture (a person, place, etc.).
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Informal. to heap attentions on; court intensively; woo.
to rush an attractive newcomer.
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to entertain (a prospective fraternity or sorority member) before making bids for membership.
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Football.
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to carry (the ball) forward across the line of scrimmage.
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to carry the ball (a distance) forward from the line of scrimmage.
The home team rushed 145 yards.
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(of a defensive team member) to attempt to force a way quickly into the backfield in pursuit of (the back in possession of the ball).
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noun
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the act of rushing; a rapid, impetuous, or violent onward movement.
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a hostile attack.
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an eager rushing of numbers of persons to some region that is being occupied or exploited, especially because of a new mine.
the gold rush to California.
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a sudden appearance or surge.
Seeing the old photo set off a rush of tears.
You’ll experience a massive rush of adrenaline as you find yourself in free fall.
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hurried activity; busy haste.
the rush of city life.
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a hurried state, as from pressure of affairs.
to be in a rush.
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press of work, business, traffic, etc., requiring extraordinary effort or haste.
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Football.
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an attempt to carry or instance of carrying the ball across the line of scrimmage.
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an act or instance of rushing the offensive back in possession of the ball.
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a scrimmage held as a form of sport between classes or bodies of students in colleges.
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Movies. rushes, daily.
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Also called flash. Slang. the initial, intensely pleasurable or exhilarated feeling experienced upon taking a narcotic or stimulant drug.
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The sheer ecstatic rush in that moment was the best feeling on earth.
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Informal. a series of lavish attentions paid a woman by a suitor.
He gave her a big rush.
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the rushing by a fraternity or sorority.
adjective
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requiring or done in haste: rush work.
a rush order;
rush work.
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characterized by excessive business, a press of work or traffic, etc..
The cafeteria's rush period was from noon to two in the afternoon.
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characterized by the rushing of potential new members by a sorority or fraternity.
rush week on the university campus.
rush
2
American
[ruhsh]
/ rʌʃ /
noun
-
any grasslike plant of the genus Juncus, having pithy or hollow stems, found in wet or marshy places.
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any plant of the rush family.
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any of various similar plants.
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a stem of such a plant, used for making chair bottoms, mats, baskets, etc.
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something of little or no value; trifle.
not worth a rush.
Rush
3
American
[ruhsh]
/ rʌʃ /
noun
-
Benjamin, 1745–1813, U.S. physician and political leader: author of medical treatises.
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his son Richard, 1780–1859, U.S. lawyer, politician, and diplomat.
rush
1
British
/ rʌʃ /
verb
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to hurry or cause to hurry; hasten
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to make a sudden attack upon (a fortress, position, person, etc)
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to proceed or approach in a reckless manner
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to proceed with precipitate haste
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(intr) to come, flow, swell, etc, quickly or suddenly
tears rushed to her eyes
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slang to cheat, esp by grossly overcharging
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(tr) to make a concerted effort to secure the agreement, participation, etc, of (a person)
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(intr) American football to gain ground by running forwards with the ball
noun
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the act or condition of rushing
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a sudden surge towards someone or something
a gold rush
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a sudden surge of sensation, esp produced by a drug
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a sudden demand
adjective
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requiring speed or urgency
a rush job
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characterized by much movement, business, etc
a rush period
rush
2
British
/ rʌʃ /
noun
-
any annual or perennial plant of the genus Juncus , growing in wet places and typically having grasslike cylindrical leaves and small green or brown flowers: family Juncaceae Many species are used to make baskets
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any of various similar or related plants, such as the woodrush, scouring rush, and spike-rush
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something valueless; a trifle; straw
not worth a rush
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short for rush light
rush
Idioms
Synonym Usage
Rush, hurry, dash, speed imply swiftness of movement. Rush implies haste and sometimes violence in motion through some distance: to rush to the store. Hurry suggests a sense of strain or agitation, a breathless rushing to get to a definite place by a certain time: to hurry to an appointment. Dash implies impetuosity or spirited, swift movement for a short distance: to dash to the neighbor's. Speed means to go fast, usually by means of some type of transportation, and with some smoothness of motion: to speed to a nearby city.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rushsimple
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rushessimple
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have rushedperfect
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has rushedperfect
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am rushingprogressive
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are rushingprogressive
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is rushingprogressive
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have been rushingperfect progressive
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has been rushingperfect progressive
Past
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rushedsimple
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had rushedperfect
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was rushingprogressive
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were rushingprogressive
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had been rushingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rush1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb rushe(n), ruishe, from Anglo-French russher, russer, Old French re(h)usser, re(h)user, ruser, from Late Latin recūsāre “to push back,” Latin: “to refuse”; noun derivative of the verb; see also recuse, ruse
Origin of rush2
First recorded before 900; Middle English risch(e), ris(s)e, rich, Old English rysc, risc, rix; cognate with Dutch, Middle High German rusch, obsolete German Rusch, German Rausch
Explanation
To rush is to hurry or move very quickly, like when you rush to get to class on time or rush to catch the subway instead of waiting for the next one. Rush implies urgency — you need to get somewhere, or do something, fast. You can also rush someone else: "Don't rush me, I like to stay after the movie and watch the credits!" It's a noun, too: "She's obviously in a rush to get somewhere." A "rush job" has an immediate deadline, and "rush hour" is the busiest time of day for drivers in a rush to get to work, or to go home afterward.
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:
Cloudflare and other cybersecurity stocks have gained as website operators rush to patch PHP flaws, but price targets suggest uneven upside.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
At rush hour in Nazareth, the largest Arab-majority city in Israel, students are handing out leaflets by the roadside urging motorists to vote in next week's closely fought, general election.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Dusch’s team decided to rush out the patch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The prestige TV gold rush inspired plenty of marquee stars to jump ship, taking roles from deep-pocketed streamers for niche audiences.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
“Land rush means we have a chance to claim our own acres. Our own home. Not beholden, owing nobody.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
But the tribe was forced out during the Gold Rush and, decades later, a railroad was built along the river in this verdant stretch of Humboldt County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Nonetheless, even against the background of a nation in flames the Gold Rush is a fascinating saga, especially in the hands of so capable a chronicler as Nathaniel Philbrick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The most well-thought-out example is a Foreign Affairs essay published in August by Kurt M. Campbell and Rush Doshi, who served on the National Security Council during the Biden administration.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Rush fabricated a highly classified program to justify the acquisition of luxury real estate in South Florida, which he then intended to resell for personal profit," the court filing laying out the deal states.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
So formidable was his reputation that Benjamin Rush could stride into a sickroom and calmly tell a suffering individual: “You have nothing but the yellow fever.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Whenever it rains, water rushes down streets and sidewalks — picking up any trash, pesticides, dog poop and other fecal matter in its way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Robert King, who grew up in San Jose, watched the Bay Area transform as the technology industry grew, and said there are parallels with the lawlessness of past gold rushes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Downpours from intense summer thunderstorms can fall faster than the water can soak into the ground and, instead, it rushes over the surface, leading to flash flooding.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Too late, a UN security guard rushes in with a fire extinguisher.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Before I have time to wonder where Sara ate lunch, Maddy rushes on.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Murray, and a bystander, rushed to help the driver as the SUV sank.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Treasury market was getting a big boost on Thursday, as stocks tied to the artificial-intelligence boom tumbled and investors rushed to safety in bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
When the dealer finally called, Giles rushed home from work and woke up her son.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Justice Brown has rushed for more than 1,000 yards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
He rushed toward the entryway, and it was as if he’d become the Pied Piper now.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
At that recent dinner, for instance, we had tickets to see a play and were rushing to finish up our meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The running back now leads the NFL with 665 rushing yards, a record from a player's first five games with a new team, and the Chiefs visit his former team Seattle next Sunday.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Herbert led the Chargers in rushing with 26 yards and threw for 204 yards on 22-for-37 passing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
Ambulances were seen rushing to pick up injured people as the protest entered its tenth hour.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Standing there in the middle of all those rushing people and beeping machines and big rolling hospital beds like rafts down the river of the hallway to just be held by my mom.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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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.
