rabbit

Less common meanings

4. 4
   chatterverbBritishintransitive

   To talk at length about unimportant things in a way others find boring, usually with on.

   The children rabbit on endlessly during long car trips.

   He was rabbiting away in the corner, ignored by everyone.

   UsageUsually rabbit on or rabbiting away, often with about: rabbiting on about his car.

   Similarchatter, babble, prattle, jabber, witter

   Note

   Cockney rhyming slang that has been cut short. Rabbit and pork rhymes with talk, and the rhyming half dropped away, so this verb has nothing to do with the animal. Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting (1993) shows it at home in Scots speech as well. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The verb comes from shortened Cockney rhyming slang, rabbit and pork for talk; it does not describe animal behaviour. en.wiktionary.org
   • Irvine Welsh wrote Trainspotting, first published in 1993. openlibrary.org
   • Trainspotting uses the verb in Scots narration. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   sets the pacenouncountable or uncountable

   A runner in a distance race whose main role is to set the pace, either to tire a particular rival so a teammate can win or to help someone break a record.

   The rabbit towed the leaders through a quick opening mile before fading.

   Organizers hired a rabbit to help chase the world record.

   Similarpacemaker, pacesetter, pacer

6. 6
   sex toynouncountable or uncountable

   A vibrator with an insertable shaft and a clitoral stimulator, the stimulator usually shaped like a rabbit's ears.

   Many reviewers rank the rabbit among the most popular vibrators sold today.

   She kept the rabbit in her bedside drawer.

   UsageOften said in full, rabbit vibrator, where the animal could be meant.

   Note

   A brand name that became generic, so it now covers the whole category rather than one maker's product. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Rabbit, denoting this vibrator, is a genericized brand name. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Melted, seasoned cheese poured over toast; also called Welsh rabbit or rarebit.

   Welsh rabbit makes a quick, savory supper on a cold night.

   Her Welsh rabbit, made with sharp cheddar, mustard, and a splash of dark ale, bubbled under the broiler until golden.

   Similarrarebit

   Note

   The cheese dish shares the animal's name and has carried it for a long time. Hannah Glasse gave recipes for Scotch, Welsh and English rabbit. Mrs. N. K. M. Lee's The American Family Cook Book heads a recipe "Cheese toasted, or rabbit." A qualifier usually names the variation: Buck rabbit adds a poached egg, and Yorkshire rabbit adds bacon. Rarebit is the alternative name. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

   • Rabbit has long named the cheese dish, and Hannah Glasse included Scotch, Welsh and English versions. en.wikipedia.org
   • Mrs. N. K. M. Lee's The American Family Cook Book contains the quoted recipe heading. en.wiktionary.org
   • Buck rabbit adds a poached egg. uwyoextension.org
   • Yorkshire rabbit adds bacon. gutenberg.org
   • Rarebit is an alternative name for the dish. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   huntverbintransitive

   To hunt wild rabbits, typically with dogs or ferrets.

   Every fall, the boys would rabbit along the hedgerows with their terriers.

   He learned to rabbit with ferrets when he was a child.

   UsageMost often in go rabbiting, like go fishing.

   Note

   Hunting is turned into a verb here, as with fishing or birding, and the verb takes no object: people go rabbiting rather than rabbit something. Its spelling settles a question for every verb on the page. Both rabbiting and rabbitting, and both rabbited and rabbitted, are in use. The single t fits the stress, which falls on the first syllable. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Both single-t and double-t inflections are recorded. en.wiktionary.org
   • Rabbit has first-syllable stress. en.wiktionary.org
   • The single-t spelling follows the usual rule for words with first-syllable stress. ub.edu
9. 9
   fleeverbUSintransitive

   To run away suddenly; to flee.

   At the first sight of the police, the kids rabbit down the alley.

   He rabbited the moment the deal turned sour.

   Similarbolt, flee, run, scarper, scram

   Note

   The image is the animal's sudden startled dash, and the verb keeps that sense of panic rather than planned escape.

10. 10
    weak batternouncountable or uncountable

    In cricket, a very poor batter, usually picked for bowling or wicketkeeping; also, as in a bowler's rabbit, any batter whom one bowler dismisses again and again.

    Batting last, the fast bowler was a classic rabbit.

    The rabbit edged a nervous single before being bowled.

    Note

    Cricket's word for the player nobody picked for his batting. His runs are a bonus, because he is there to bowl or keep wicket. The term passes judgment on him against all comers: a side simply has a rabbit or two at the bottom of the order. The possessive use, a bowler's rabbit, narrows the weakness to one particular bowler. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A rabbit is selected for bowling or wicketkeeping rather than batting and bats near the bottom of the order. i.imgci.com
    • The unqualified term describes general batting weakness, with little expectation of useful runs. en.wikipedia.org
    • The possessive expression refers to repeated dismissals by a particular bowler. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    mild curseverbtransitive

    To confound or damn, used in mild oaths expressing annoyance or frustration.

    LORD D. There, Dick, d'ye hear how the tutorer talks? oh rabbit it! he can ladle you out of latin by the quart;—and grunts greek like a pig.

    1797, George Colman, The Heir at Law

    Similardrat, blast, darn, dash

    Note

    Another word that only shares the animal's spelling: this oath is perhaps a corruption of rabate. It behaves like drat, an exclamation followed by its object, usually it. In George Colman the Younger's The Heir at Law (first performed in 1797), a blustering lord marvels at a tutor's Latin with "oh rabbit it!" That line captures its comic, mock-indignant flavor. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The oath has a separate proposed etymology from the animal word and may be a corruption of rabate. en.wiktionary.org
    • George Colman the Younger wrote The Heir at Law. en.wikipedia.org
    • The play was first performed in 1797. openlibrary.org
    • A lord says "oh rabbit it!" while marveling at a tutor's Latin. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    noun

    In sorting, a large-valued element near the start of a list that advances quickly to its correct position during a bubble sort; the opposite of a turtle.
13. 13
    noun

    A pneumatically controlled device used to insert small material samples into the core of a nuclear reactor.