Rabbit Definition & Meaning

American

British

More Idioms

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms rabbit American [rab-it] / ˈræb ɪt /

noun

plural

rabbits,

plural

rabbit

1. any of several soft-furred, large-eared, rodentlike burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae, allied with the hares and pikas in the order Lagomorpha, having a divided upper lip and long hind legs, usually smaller than the hares and mainly distinguished from them by bearing blind and furless young in nests rather than fully developed young in the open.

2. any of various small hares.

3. the fur of a rabbit or hare, often processed to imitate another fur.

4. Welsh rabbit.

5. a runner in a distance race whose goal is chiefly to set a fast pace, either to exhaust a particular rival so that a teammate can win or to help another entrant break a record; pacesetter.

6. British Informal. a person who is poor at sports, especially golf, tennis, or cricket.

idioms

1. pull a rabbit out of the hat, to find or obtain a sudden solution to a problem.

   Unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of the hat by next week, we'll be bankrupt.

rabbit British / ˈræbɪt /

noun

1. any of various common gregarious burrowing leporid mammals, esp Oryctolagus cuniculus of Europe and North Africa and the cottontail of America. They are closely related and similar to hares but are smaller and have shorter ears

2. the fur of such an animal

3. informal a novice or poor performer at a game or sport

"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

verb

1. (intr) to hunt or shoot rabbits

2. informal (intr; often foll by on or away) to talk inconsequentially; chatter

"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 rabbit More Idioms

1. see pull (a rabbit) out of a hat.

Usage

Where does rabbit come from? There's just something about the names of some of the most familiar animals. Like dog, the origin of the word rabbit is obscure. But, at least we are few hops closer to a source with rabbit than we are with dog.Found in Middle English, rabbit originally meant "young rabbit, bunny," and was most likely borrowed from a French word. Scholars point us to the Walloon robett and the dialectical Dutch robbe. But from there, it’s an etymological rabbit hole.Walloon is a French dialect chiefly spoken in southern and southeastern Belgium and neighboring regions in France.Unsure about the difference between a rabbit and a hare? We've got you covered!

Other Word Forms

• rabbitlike adjective
• rabbity adjective

Etymology

Origin of rabbit

1375–1425; late Middle English rabet ( te ) young rabbit, bunny, probably < Old North French; compare Walloon robett, dialectal Dutch robbe

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.

The new show is named after “tangents” so that Nihill can go down different rabbit holes each night if he wants.

From Los Angeles Times

For a solid hour he keeps Evy, and the audience, feeling as if we’re burrowing down a rabbit hole that keeps taking odd turns.

From The Wall Street Journal

American boys are falling behind in school and tumbling into perilous internet rabbit holes.

From The Wall Street Journal

His family spotted the lights on their land and believed Dandridge was "lamping", when people use bright lights to find animals such as rabbits and foxes, often with a dog.

From BBC

He said they were "the same size as a rabbit".

From BBC

Related Words

• bunny
• coney
• cony
• hare
• lagomorph
• lapin

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.