rabbit
gb/ɹˈæbɪt/ us/ɹˈæbɪt/
A1
English
~ 6600
nyúl, nyúlhús, locsog, nyúlra vadászik, iramfutó
NOUN
A1
1
nyúl
A1
Usage pattern:
[someone] keeps [a / some] rabbit[s]
The children were excited to feed the rabbit at the petting zoo.
A gyerekek izgatottan etették a nyulat az állatsimogatóban.
A rabbit suddenly ran across the path in front of us.
Egy nyúl hirtelen átszaladt előttünk az ösvényen.
They keep a rabbit in a hutch at the end of the garden.
Foxes often hunt rabbit in the fields near the village.
The scientist studied how the wild rabbit population changed over time.
Learner examples
The rabbit has long ears and soft fur.
A nyúlnak hosszú fülei és puha bundája van.
My sister has a white rabbit as a pet.
A lánytestvérem egy fehér nyulat tart házi kedvencként.
We saw a rabbit jump into a hole.
The dog chased a rabbit in the park.
There is a small brown rabbit under the tree.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse a rabbit with a hare. A hare is a different but similar animal that is usually larger and has longer legs. Also, "bunny" is not more correct; it is just a more informal, childlike word for the same animal.
Meaning
small furry animal with long ears
Collocations
wild rabbit
|pet rabbit
|baby rabbit
|rabbit hutch
|rabbit hole
|rabbit population
Synonyms
bunny (More informal and childish; often used when talking to or by children or when something is cute.)
Antonyms
predator (Rabbits are typical prey animals, while predators are animals that hunt and eat prey.)
Themes
animals
|nature
|daily life
|daily_life
Definition
A small animal with long ears and a short tail that hops and often lives in fields or is kept as a pet.
A small plant-eating mammal with long ears, strong back legs, and a short tail, often kept as a pet or hunted in the wild.
NOUN
B1
2
nyúlhús
B1
Usage pattern:
[someone] eats [rabbit]
The restaurant serves a rich rabbit stew with red wine sauce.
Az étteremben tartalmas, vörösboros nyúlragu is van.
We had rabbit for dinner when we visited my grandparents in the country.
Nyulat ettünk vacsorára, amikor meglátogattuk a nagyszüleimet vidéken.
Rabbit is a lean meat that many chefs like to cook with.
He ordered roast rabbit with potatoes and seasonal vegetables.
The cookbook includes several traditional recipes for wild rabbit.
Learner examples
We ate rabbit with rice last night.
Tegnap este nyúlhúst ettünk rizzsel.
Rabbit is not very common in supermarkets in my country.
Az én országomban nem nagyon kapható nyúlhús a szupermarketekben.
My uncle likes to cook rabbit on special days.
She made a soup with rabbit and vegetables.
He has never tasted rabbit before.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think sentences like "We had rabbit for lunch" refer to having a live pet with them, not eating the meat. In food contexts, "rabbit" almost always means the meat, not a live animal.
Meaning
meat from a rabbit
Collocations
rabbit stew
|rabbit pie
|roast rabbit
|rabbit curry
|rabbit meat
|rabbit dish
Synonyms
game (A general word for wild animals used as food; rabbit is one type of game, along with deer, pheasant, etc.)
Antonyms
beef (A different, common kind of meat from cows; often contrasted with other meats on menus or in recipes.)
Themes
food
|cooking
|daily life
|food_drink
|daily_life
Definition
Meat that comes from a rabbit and is cooked and eaten.
The meat of a rabbit when used as food.
VERB
C1
INFORMAL
3
locsog
B2
Usage pattern:
[someone] rabbits (on) (about [something])
He just rabbits on about football every time we meet.
Akárhányszor találkozunk, csak a fociról locsog.
She rabbited away about her holiday for nearly an hour.
Majdnem egy órán át locsogott a nyaralásáról.
I wish they would stop rabbiting on and get to the point.
They spent the whole evening rabbiting about old school friends.
He tends to rabbit on when he gets nervous.
Learner examples
He rabbited on about his new phone.
Az új telefonjáról locsogott.
They just sat there and rabbited away for hours.
Csak ültek ott, és órákon át locsogtak.
Please stop rabbiting on and listen to me.
She rabbited on about the movie all night.
My uncle can rabbit on about cars all day.
Common mistake:
This meaning is mainly British informal English and is usually used with the particle "on" ("rabbit on"). Saying *"He rabbited for an hour"* without "on" sounds unnatural in most dialects. Learners may also confuse it with the animal; context and the presence of "on" or "away" show that it is about talking.
Meaning
talk on and on about trivia
Collocations
rabbit on
|rabbit away
|rabbit about [something]
|stop rabbiting
|always rabbiting on
Synonyms
ramble (Focuses more on talking in a confused or disorganized way; "rabbit" often adds the idea that it is boring or goes on too long.)
Antonyms
shut up (An informal and sometimes rude way to say "stop talking"; the opposite of talking on and on.)
Themes
communication
|daily life
Definition
To talk a lot, often for too long, about things that are not very important.
To talk for a long time, especially about unimportant or uninteresting things.
VERB
C1
4
Usage pattern:
[someone] rabbits [somewhere]
They used to rabbit in these hills when they were teenagers.
Tizenéves korukban ezen a dombvidéken nyúlra vadásztak.
He learned to rabbit with his grandfather on the family farm.
A családi gazdaságban a nagyapjától tanult meg nyúlra vadászni.
Locals would rabbit on the common land to put food on the table.
We sometimes rabbit in the early morning before work.
People are no longer allowed to rabbit in this protected area.
Learner examples
My uncle likes to rabbit in the countryside.
A nagybátyám szeret vidéken nyúlra vadászni.
They went out to rabbit at the weekend.
Hétvégén elmentek nyúlra vadászni.
Farmers used to rabbit to get food.
He learned to rabbit when he was young.
Some people rabbit for sport, not for food.
Common mistake:
Learners may think this verb means "to move like a rabbit" or confuse it with the talking meaning in British English. In this sense it always means to hunt rabbits, and it is mainly used in rural or traditional contexts.
Meaning
hunt rabbits for sport or food
Collocations
go rabbiting
|rabbit at night
|rabbit in the fields
|rabbit for food
|rabbit with dogs
Synonyms
hunt (General word for chasing and killing wild animals; "rabbit" as a verb is specific to rabbits.)
Antonyms
protect (To keep animals safe from harm, which is the opposite of hunting them.)
Themes
animals
|sport
|outdoors
|daily_life
Definition
To go out to look for rabbits and catch or kill them, usually to eat them or as a sport.
To hunt or catch rabbits, especially as a sport or for food.
NOUN
C2
TECHNICAL
5
iramfutó
C1
Usage pattern:
[someone] acts as a rabbit
The organizers brought in a rabbit to ensure a fast time.
A szervezők iramfutót szerződtettek, hogy jó időeredmény szülessen.
He acted as a rabbit for his teammate in the 1500 metres.
Iramfutóként segítette a csapattársát az 1500 méteres versenyen.
The rabbit dropped out halfway through the race after setting a hard pace.
They decided not to use a rabbit in the final, hoping the field would push the pace naturally.
Without a rabbit, the early laps were much slower than expected.
Learner examples
The race had a rabbit to make the runners go fast.
A versenyen volt egy iramfutó, hogy gyorsabb tempóra ösztönözze a futókat.
He was the rabbit, not the real winner.
Ő iramfutó volt, nem a valódi győztes.
The rabbit left the race after two laps.
They used a rabbit to help break the record.
A rabbit sets the speed for other runners.
Common mistake:
Learners may think this always refers to the animal running on the track. In sports news, however, "rabbit" usually means a human or horse whose role is to set the speed, not a real rabbit.
Meaning
runner who sets race pace
Collocations
act as a rabbit
|used as a rabbit
|employ a rabbit
|pace-setting rabbit
|hire a rabbit for the race
Synonyms
pacemaker (More common technical term in athletics; used across sports, not just informally as "rabbit".)
Antonyms
contender (A competitor who is trying to win the race, not just set the pace for others.)
Themes
sport
|competition
|sports
Definition
In some races, a runner (or horse) whose job is to start fast and make a strong speed so that the main competitors can follow that pace.
In racing, especially athletics and horse racing, a competitor who is used to set a fast early pace to help or test other competitors.
Grammar
Dictionary form
rabbit
IPA
GB/ɹˈæbɪt/
US/ɹˈæbɪt/
Syllables & stress
rab - bit (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (rab)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: rabbit
- Plural: rabbit, rabbits
Verb
- Base: rabbit
- 3rd Person Singular: rabbits
- Present Participle: rabbitting
- Past: rabbitted
Word family
Highlights
- Irregular present participle: rabbitting Verb
- Irregular past: rabbitted Verb
Expressions
down the rabbit hole
1/dˈaʊn ðə ɹˈæbɪt hˈoʊl/
idiom
enter a strange, complex situation
To go into a strange, complex, or deep situation, topic, or series of events that becomes more confusing the more you follow it.
Examples
- I went down the rabbit hole of old jazz recordings last night and stayed up until 3 a.m.
- Clicking one video after another, he soon found himself down the rabbit hole of extreme sports.
- The discussion about one small problem took us down the rabbit hole of company politics.
like a rabbit caught in the headlights
1/lˈaɪk ə ɹˈæbɪt kˈɔt ˈɪn ðə hˈɛdlˌaɪts/
idiom
frozen and unable to act from fear
Unable to move or decide what to do because you are very afraid or surprised.
Examples
- When they asked him a difficult question, he just stood there like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
- She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights when the manager suddenly called her name.
- Faced with the camera, he froze like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
pull a rabbit out of a hat
1/pˈʊl ə ɹˈæbɪt ˈaʊt əv ə hˈæt/
idiom
suddenly find an unexpected solution
To suddenly find or show a surprising and clever idea or result, especially when people did not think it was possible.
Examples
- The team was losing until their coach pulled a rabbit out of a hat with a brilliant new tactic.
- Unless the company can pull a rabbit out of a hat, it will go out of business.
- The lawyer pulled a rabbit out of a hat by finding a small mistake in the contract.
rabbit food
1/ɹˈæbɪt fˈud/
idiom
informal
light meal of mainly salad
Food that is mainly raw vegetables, especially salad, often seen as too light or not filling.
Examples
- Is that all you're eating for lunch, just rabbit food?
- He complained that the diet was nothing but rabbit food.
- I like rabbit food in summer, but in winter I want something hot.
rabbit hole
1/ɹˈæbɪt hˈoʊl/
idiom
endless, increasingly complex situation
A situation, topic, or activity that becomes stranger, more complicated, or deeper the more you think about it, read about it, or follow it.
Examples
- Be careful: searching your symptoms online can send you down a real rabbit hole.
- The documentary led me into a rabbit hole of videos about climate science.
- Once you get into that conspiracy theory rabbit hole, it's hard to get out.
rabbit on (about)
1/ɹˈæbɪt ˈɔn əbˈaʊt/
phrasal verb
informal
talk too much about nothing important
To talk for a long time, often in a boring way, about things that are not very important.
Examples
- He rabbited on about his holiday for the entire lunch break.
- They just rabbited on about office gossip instead of doing any work.
- I don't want to rabbit on about politics, but this law really worries me.
run like a scared rabbit
1/ɹˈʌn lˈaɪk ə skˈɛɹd ɹˈæbɪt/
idiom
run very fast in fear
To run very fast because you are afraid or trying hard to escape.
Examples
- When the alarm went off, they ran like scared rabbits for the exit.
- He ran like a scared rabbit when he saw the dog chasing him.
- The thieves ran like scared rabbits as soon as the police arrived.
breed like rabbits
6/bɹˈid lˈaɪk ɹˈæbɪts/
idiom
informal
Have babies very quickly
To have many babies very quickly, or to increase in number very fast.
Examples
- They seem to be breeding like rabbits; they already have five kids.
- Without proper control, the animals would breed like rabbits.
- The animals bred like rabbits after the new food was introduced.
- He jokes that his relatives breed like rabbits and there is always a new baby in the family.
- Some people worry that humans are breeding like rabbits and using too many resources.
- If left unchecked, these insects will breed like rabbits.