rabbit

/ˈræbət/

/ˈræbɪt/

Other forms: rabbits; rabbiting; rabbited

A rabbit is a small long-eared animal that is related to a hare. You can keep a rabbit as an indoor pet — just be careful, because it will chew on just about everything!

Until the 1900s, an adult rabbit was called a coney, while the babies were rabets. The origin of this word, which eventually became rabbit, remains a mystery. In the wild, rabbits live in large, social groups in underground warrens. As pets, they require something to gnaw on because their teeth never stop growing and have to be regularly ground down. With their many predators, rabbits are naturally nervous, but when they're very relaxed, they purr like cats!

Definitions of rabbit

1. noun

   any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
   synonyms: coney, cony

   types:

   rabbit ears

   the long ears of a rabbit

   lapin

   castrated male rabbit

   bunny, bunny rabbit

   (usually informal) especially a young rabbit

   European rabbit, Old World rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus

   common greyish-brown burrowing animal native to southern Europe and northern Africa but introduced elsewhere; widely domesticated and developed in various colors and for various needs; young are born naked and helpless

   cottontail, cottontail rabbit, wood rabbit

   common small rabbit of North America having greyish or brownish fur and a tail with a white underside; a host for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)

   Belgian hare, leporide

   red breed of domestic rabbits; hybrid between Old World rabbit and hare

   Angora, Angora rabbit, angora

   domestic breed of rabbit with long white silky hair

   Sylvilagus floridanus, eastern cottontail

   widely distributed in United States except northwest and far west regions

   Sylvilagus aquaticus, canecutter, swamp hare, swamp rabbit

   a wood rabbit of southeastern United States swamps and lowlands

   Sylvilagus palustris, marsh hare, swamp rabbit

   a wood rabbit of marshy coastal areas from North Carolina to Florida

   type of:

   leporid, leporid mammal

   rabbits and hares
2. noun

   flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food
   synonyms: hare

   type of:

   game

   the flesh of wild animals that is used for food
3. noun

   the fur of a rabbit
   synonyms: lapin

   type of:

   fur, pelt

   the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
4. verb

   hunt rabbits
   type of:

   hunt, hunt down, run, track down

   pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)