• (British, America) enPR: răb'it, IPA: /ˈɹæbɪt/
• (Australia, weak vowel) enPR: răb'ət, IPA: /ˈɹæbət/

rabbit

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. (uncountable) The meat from this animal.
3. (uncountable) The fur of a rabbit typically used to imitate another animal's fur.
4. 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.
5. (cricket) A very poor batsman; selected as a bowler or wicket-keeper.
6. (comptheory) 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.

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

• French: lapin
• German: Kaninchen, Karnickel (colloquial), Schlappohr (humorous)
• Italian: coniglio
• Portuguese: coelho
• Russian: кро́лик
• Spanish: conejo

• Italian: lapin

• Italian: lepre

rabbit (rabbits, present participle rabbitting; past and past participle rabbitted)

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

rabbit (rabbits, present participle rabbiting; past and past participle rabbited)

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

   Synonyms: rabbit on

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

• (to talk incessantly and childishly) babble, blather, prattle; see also Thesaurus:prattle

1. confound; damn; drat

1. The fourth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.