rabbit

The word “rabbit” means a small, long-eared mammal known for its fast breeding and hopping movement. In plain terms, the familiar long-eared animal, though the word is also used for a pacesetting runner or, as a verb, for talking too much.

“Rabbit” is pronounced RA-biht (/ˈɹæbɪt/ in IPA).

Here is “rabbit” used in a sentence: “A wild rabbit darted across the garden at dusk.”

Words with a similar meaning to “rabbit” include bunny, bunny rabbit, coney and cony.

Depending on how it is used, “rabbit” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “rabbit” comes from Old French. Entered English from Old French/Middle Dutch roots in the late Middle Ages, originally meaning specifically a young rabbit; it replaced the older word "cony" once that word became a crude euphemism.

“Rabbit” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Rabbit” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a small, long-eared mammal known for its fast breeding and hopping movement.

Rabbits and hares are related long-eared mammals, but hares are generally larger, with longer ears and legs, and their young are born fully furred with open eyes. Rabbits typically shelter in burrows and give birth to blind, hairless young, and they are the species most often kept as pets.

In athletics, a rabbit is a runner whose job is to set a fast early pace for a teammate or rival rather than to win the race. Race organizers use rabbits, also called pacemakers, to pull the field through quick early laps in record attempts.

They are the same animal: bunny is simply an informal, affectionate word for a rabbit, used especially by and with children. Rabbit is the standard term you would use in neutral or formal contexts.