rabbit

• (UK, US) enPR: răb'it, IPA^(key): /ˈɹæbɪt/

• Audio ('a rabbit') (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -æbɪt
• (General Australian, weak vowel merger) enPR: răb'ət, IPA^(key): /ˈɹæbət/

• Audio (AU)

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• Homophone: rabbet

From Middle English rabet, from Middle French dialect (compare French dialect rabbotte, rabouillet (“baby rabbit”)), from Walloon robète, diminutive of Middle Dutch robbe (“rabbit; seal”) (compare Dutch rob (“rabbit”), rob (“seal [sea mammal]”)), from Middle Low German robbe (“seal”) (compare dialectal Low German Rubb, Robb, German Robbe (“seal”)), from rubben (“to rub”). More at rub.

rabbit (plural rabbits)

1. A mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.

   The pioneers survived by eating the small game they could get: rabbits, squirrels and occasionally a raccoon.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Old Punt: A Curious ‘Turnpike’”, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], OCLC 752825175, pages 19–20:

     Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

2. The fur of a rabbit typically used to imitate another animal's fur.
3. A runner in a distance race whose goal is mainly to set the pace, either to tire a specific rival so that a teammate can win or to help another break a record; a pacesetter.
4. (cricket) A very poor batsman; selected as a bowler or wicket-keeper.
5. (computing theory) A large element at the beginning of a list of items to be bubble sorted, and thus tending to be quickly swapped into its correct position. Compare turtle.

(animal):

• bunny (hypocoristic, colloquial, pet name)
• bunny rabbit (hypocoristic, colloquial, pet name)
• coney, cony (dialect)

• bunny rabbit
• jackrabbit

• rabbiter
• rabbity

rabbit (third-person singular simple present rabbits, present participle rabbitting or rabbiting, simple past and past participle rabbitted or rabbited)

1. (intransitive) To hunt rabbits.
2. (US, intransitive) To flee.

   The informant seemed skittish, as if he was about to rabbit.

• (to flee): run off, scamper, bolt

From Cockney rhyming slang rabbit and pork, to talk.

rabbit (third-person singular simple present rabbits, present participle rabbiting, simple past and past participle rabbited)

1. (Britain, intransitive) To talk incessantly and in a childish manner; to babble annoyingly.

   Stop your infernal rabbiting! Use proper words or nobody will listen to you!

   Commonly used in the form "to rabbit on"

• (to talk incessantly and childishly): babble, blather, prattle, Thesaurus:chatter, Thesaurus:talk

• chew the fat
• chew the cud (British)
• shoot the breeze (US)

rabbi +‎ -t

• IPA^(key): [ˈrɒbːit]
• Hyphenation: rab‧bit

rabbit

1. accusative singular of rabbi