Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various grasslike wetland plants of the genus Juncus, having stiff hollow or pithy stems and small usually clustered brownish flowers.
- noun Any of various similar plants, such as a bulrush.
- noun The stem of one of these plants, used in making baskets, mats, and chair seats.
- intransitive verb To move swiftly; hurry.
- intransitive verb To act with great haste.
- intransitive verb To make a sudden or swift attack or charge.
- intransitive verb To flow or surge rapidly, often with noise.
- intransitive verb Football To advance the ball or attempt to advance the ball from scrimmage by carrying it rather than passing.
- intransitive verb To cause to move rapidly.
- intransitive verb To cause to act with haste.
- intransitive verb To perform with great haste.
- intransitive verb To attack swiftly and suddenly.
- intransitive verb To transport or carry hastily.
- intransitive verb To entertain or pay great attention to.
- intransitive verb Football To run toward (a passer or kicker) in order to block or disrupt a play.
- noun A sudden movement toward something.
- noun An anxious and eager movement to get to or from a place.
- noun A sudden widespread demand.
- noun General haste or busyness.
- noun A sudden attack; an onslaught.
- noun A rapid, often noisy flow or passage.
- noun A large or overwhelming number or amount.
- noun An attempt to advance the ball from scrimmage by carrying it.
- noun An act of running at a passer or kicker in order to block or prevent a play.
- noun Sports A rapid advance of the puck toward the opponent's goal in ice hockey.
- noun The first, unedited print of a movie scene.
- noun A drive by a Greek society on a college campus to recruit new members.
- noun A surge or release of emotion: synonym: flow.
- noun A sudden, brief exhilaration.
- noun The intensely pleasurable sensation experienced immediately after use of a stimulant or a mind-altering drug.
- adjective Performed with or requiring great haste or urgency.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To move or drive forward with impetuosity, violence, or tumultuous rapidity.
- To move or act with undue eagerness, or without due deliberation and preparation; hurry: as, to
rush into business or politics. - In foot-ball, to fill the position of a rusher.
- To take part in a college rush. See
rush , n., 5. - To cause to rush; cause to go swiftly or violently; drive or thrust furiously; hence, to force impetuously or hastily; hurry; overturn.
- Specifically In foot-ball, to force by main strength toward the goal of one's opponents: said of the ball.
- To secure by rushing.
- To cause to hasten; especially, to urge to undue haste; drive; push.
- In rowing, to come forward too fast; to rush the slide.
- To surround with many attentions and entertain often: as, to
rush a girl; to rush a man for a fraternity. - noun A driving forward with eagerness and haste; a motion or course of action marked by violent or tumultuous haste: as, a rush of troops; a rush of winds.
- noun An eager demand; a run.
- noun In foot-ball, a play by which one of the contestants forces his way with the ball through the line of his opponents toward their goal.
- noun A very successful passing of an examination, or a correct recitation.
- noun A scrimmage between classes or bodies of students. such as occurs at some American colleges.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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At nine, sharp to the tick of the clock, the _rush, rush, rush_ of a field battery's shells passed overhead.
Action Front Boyd Cable 1910
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When DePo says we don’t want to rush any pitchers up to the big club it’s code for *we don’t really have anyone to rush*
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Even the term "rush hour" is a misnomer, since when we are sitting in one we certainly are not rushing anywhere!
Thestar.com - Home Page Ian Law 2011
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We blow the vuvuzela because we get an adrenalin rush from the creative noise it makes.
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela? 2009
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(Of course the endorphin rush from the large amount of caspaicin in the chili peppers didn't hurt either!)
Archive 2008-04-01 Sarah Lenz 2008
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(Of course the endorphin rush from the large amount of caspaicin in the chili peppers didn't hurt either!)
A Proustian Moment with Pad Thai Sarah Lenz 2008
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COCHRAN: Well, it's difficult because, you know, there's, you know, everybody -- I don't want to use the term rush to judgment -- everybody assumes the husband is the suspect and is probably guilty.
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As he worked, he spoke softly of "chi," which he described as the rush of numbness or warmth when the needle hits the spot, and "shen men," a point in the ear connected to anxiety and stress.
Can Needles Soothe Wounded Warriors? Michael M. Phillips 2011
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Dr. Anna Pou urged supporters to remember the storm's victims, and to ensure medical workers are not falsely accused in what she calls a rush to judgment.
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Sarah Palin, who had been silent for days, on Wednesday issued a forceful denunciation of her critics in a video statement that accused pundits and journalists of "blood libel" in what she called their rush to blame heated political rhetoric for the shootings in Arizona.
NYT > Home Page By MICHAEL D. SHEAR 2011
bilby commented on the word rush
"MYRRHINA: Where does he dwell, the beautiful young hermit who will not look at the face of woman? Has he a house of reeds or a house of burnt clay or does he lie on a hillside? Or does he make his bed in the rushes?"
- Oscar Wilde, 'La Sainte Courtisane'.
June 6, 2009