Definition

1. Noun:

   • A small mammal: A rabbit is a small, furry mammal with long ears, a short tail, and strong hind legs for hopping. It belongs to the family Leporidae.
   • The meat of this animal: Rabbit can refer to the flesh of this animal, used as food.
   • The fur of this animal: Rabbit can also refer to the soft fur or pelt of this animal.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To hunt rabbits: To rabbit means to hunt for rabbits as a sport or activity.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • We saw a brown rabbit hopping across the garden.
  • For dinner, we had a stew made with rabbit.
  • Her coat is trimmed with rabbit.

• Verb:

  • In his youth, he would often go rabbiting in the fields.

Advanced Usage

• "to breed like rabbits" (idiom): to reproduce very frequently and have many children.

  • They have ten kids; they breed like rabbits!

• "to pull a rabbit out of a hat" (idiom): to produce something surprisingly and seemingly from nowhere, especially a solution to a problem.

  • We need a miracle to finish this project on time. I hope the manager can pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Variants and Related Words

• Bunny (n): A child's word for a rabbit.

  • The little girl was delighted by the fluffy white bunny.

• Rabbit hole (n): A metaphor for a bizarre, confusing, or nonsensical situation or process, often one that is difficult to escape from. (Originates from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).

  • My internet search for a simple recipe led me down a rabbit hole of cooking blogs and videos.

• Warren (n): A network of interconnected burrows where rabbits live.

  • The field was full of rabbit warrens.

Synonyms

• Hare (n): A related animal similar to a rabbit but typically larger, with longer ears and legs, and born with fur and open eyes.
• Leporid (n): A formal term for any animal of the family Leporidae, which includes rabbits and hares.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Rabbit on (about something) (British English, informal): To talk for a long time about something that is not interesting to the listener.
  • He kept rabbiting on about his stamp collection.

Related Idioms

• "The rabbit died" (old-fashioned, informal): An outdated expression meaning a woman is pregnant (based on an obsolete pregnancy test).
• "Run rabbit run": A phrase from a popular song, sometimes used to tell someone to flee quickly.

Noun

1. flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food
2. the fur of a rabbit
3. any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food

Verb

1. hunt rabbits