hare

noun \ ˈher \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of hare

plural hare or hares

: any of various swift, gnawing, herbivorous, usually shy lagomorph mammals (family Leporidae and especially genus Lepus) that have long ears, short tails, and powerful long hind legs, are usually solitary or sometimes live in pairs, have the young open-eyed and furred at birth, and live in aboveground nests — compare rabbit 1a

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Recent Examples of hare from the Web

Today’s condom challenge will morph into tomorrow’s equally hare-brained idea.

— heidi stevens, chicagotribune.com, "Calm down about the condom challenge, grown-ups," 2 Apr. 2018
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy indexed 972 recipes, from cheesecake, to roasted hare to cures for wayward sea captains.

— laignee barron, Time, "Today's Google Doodle Celebrates Hannah Glasse, the Julia Child of the 18th Century," 27 Mar. 2018
London's busy Leicester Square has been transformed into a nocturnal woodland scene with frogs, hares and badgers taking over the central gardens.

— patricia dillon, Houston Chronicle, "Waterway Arts Festival featured artist Erin Hanson excited about festival," 17 Mar. 2018
Here are some fishing etiquette tips to keep the peace Bass fishing tips from a high school champ Prince nymphs, hare’s ears, pheasant tails and tiny tailwaters are tried-and-true South Fork patterns.

— jordan rodriguez, idahostatesman, "Check small streams for big fish this spring (fishing report, March 16) | Idaho Statesman," 16 Mar. 2018
There is no safe haven for a hare when the goshawks are hunting.

— john schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "Warm weather, abundant rodents make for happy raptors," 9 Jan. 2018
London's busy Leicester Square has been transformed into a nocturnal woodland scene with frogs, hares and badgers taking over the central gardens.

— jordan blum, Houston Chronicle, "Shell and Anadarko avoid divorce after spat, plan Permian growth," 8 Mar. 2018
Dry flies, hare’s ear and bead head nymphs, streamers and hoppers are popular fly patterns.

— jordan rodriguez, idahostatesman, "If you don’t want to travel far to fish, try these five local hotspots | Idaho Statesman," 7 Mar. 2018
My reasoning: hares are easy to catch and there are a ton of them.

— john schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "Teach your children well — take them outside (and leave the phones inside)," 29 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hare.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hare

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Mammals Terms

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

hare

verb

Definition of hare

hared; haring

intransitive verb

: to go swiftly : ¹tear

hare off down the road

See hare defined for English-language learners

Examples of hare in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of hare from the Web

Sadio Mane intercepted a stray pass on the edge of his area, before playing a through ball between two defenders to set Mohamed Salah haring down the line.

— matias grez, CNN, "Liverpool stun Manchester City to take commanding lead in Champions League tie," 4 Apr. 2018

Did You Know?

No doubt you've heard Aesop's fable about the speedy hare and the plodding tortoise. The hare may have lost that race due to a tactical error (stopping to take a nap before reaching the finish line), but the long-eared mammal's overall reputation for swiftness remains intact. It's no surprise, then, that hare is used as a verb meaning "to move quickly." The noun hare (which refers, in its most specific zoological sense, to a member of the genus Lepus, whose young are usually able to hop a few minutes after birth) is a very old word. It first appeared as hara in a Latin-Old English glossary around the year 700. The verb was in use by the end of the 19th century, and people have been "haring off" and "haring about" ever since.