hare

¹hare

noun \ˈher\

plural hare or hares

Definition of HARE

: any of various swift long-eared lagomorph mammals (family Leporidae and especially genus Lepus) that are usually solitary or sometimes live in pairs and have the young open-eyed and furred at birth — compare rabbit 1a

Origin of HARE

Middle English, from Old English hara; akin to Old High German haso hare, Sanskrit śaśa, Old English hasu gray

First Known Use: before 12th century

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

Rhymes with HARE

air, Ayr, bare, bear, Blair, blare, care, chair, chare, dare, Dare, e'er, ere, err, eyre, fair, fare, flair, flare, glair, glare, hair, Herr, heir, lair, mare, ne'er, pair, pare, pear, prayer, rare, rear, scare, share, snare, spare, square, stair, stare, swear, tare, tear, their, there, vair, ware, wear, weir, where, yare

²hare

intransitive verb

haredhar·ing

Definition of HARE

: to go swiftly : ³tear

Examples of HARE

1. He came haring round the corner at top speed.
2. <she's always haring off to attend to some emergency>

First Known Use of HARE

1719

Related to HARE

Synonyms

barrel, belt, blast, blaze, blow, bolt, bomb [slang], bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hurry, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurtle, hustle, jet, jump, motor, nip, pelt, race, ram, rip, rocket, run, rush, rustle, scoot, scurry, scuttle, shoot, speed, step, tear, travel, trot, whirl, whisk, zip, zoom

Antonyms

crawl, creep, poke

Related Words

beetle, dart, flit, scamper, scud, scuffle; stampede, streak, whiz (or whizz); gallop, jog, sprint; accelerate, quicken, step out; catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake; arrow, beeline

Near Antonyms

dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry; amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll; decelerate, slow (down or up)

hare

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)—(Top) © G.C. Kelley/Photo Researchers, (bottom) Gordon Langsbury/Bruce Coleman Ltd.

Bounding mammal (in the family Leporidae) whose young, unlike those of rabbits, are born fully haired, with open eyes, and sufficiently advanced to hop about a few minutes after birth. The common hare (Lepus europaeus) is native to central and southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; introduced into Australia, it has become a pest there. In North America the jackrabbit and snowshoe hare are widespread. Many other species occur naturally on all principal landmasses except Australia. Hares have well-developed hind legs, and the ears are usually longer than the head. Species vary in length from 16 to 28 in. (40–70 cm), without the short tail. Hares in northern latitudes are white in winter and grayish brown in summer; elsewhere, they are usually grayish brown year-round. Hares are primarily herbivorous.