jackrabbit

American

[jak-rab-it] / ˈdʒækˌræb ɪt /

adjective

resembling a jack rabbit, as in suddenness or rapidity of movement.

The car made a jackrabbit start when the traffic light turned green.

verb (used without object)

to go or start forward with a rapid, sudden movement.

Etymology

Origin of jackrabbit

First recorded in 1925–30; jack rabbit

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.

It features animals such as white-tailed deer, jackrabbit, alligator snapping turtle, lake sturgeon, blue jay and roseate spoonbill.

From BBC • Jul. 13, 2021

He never was a jackrabbit and seems content with the hundreds of other ways that we show love.

From Slate • Oct. 11, 2020

He spent his first night camping in Tulare, where he ate a jackrabbit.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2019

Now, a new study shows how: by borrowing a gene from a jackrabbit, one of their long-eared cousins.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2018

Deliveries were made five times daily, thanks to a fleet-footed army of postal workers who whisked the mail from here to there before one could say jackrabbit.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023