Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To move or act swiftly; hurry.
- v. To make a sudden or swift attack or charge.
- v. To flow or surge rapidly, often with noise: Tons of water rushed over the falls.
- v. Football To move the ball by running.
- v. To cause to move or act with unusual haste or violence.
- v. To perform with great haste: rushed completion of the project.
- v. To attack swiftly and suddenly: Infantry rushed the enemy after the artillery barrage.
- v. To transport or carry hastily: An ambulance rushed her to the hospital.
- v. To entertain or pay great attention to: They rushed him for their fraternity.
- v. Football To run at (a passer or kicker) in order to block or disrupt a play.
- n. A sudden forward motion.
- n. Surging emotion: a rush of shame.
- n. An anxious and eager movement to get to or from a place: a rush to the goldfields.
- n. A sudden, very insistent, generalized demand: a rush for gold coins.
- n. General haste or busyness: The office always operates in a rush.
- n. A sudden attack; an onslaught.
- n. A rapid, often noisy flow or passage. See Synonyms at flow.
- n. Football An attempt to move the ball by running.
- n. Football An act of running at a passer or kicker in order to block or prevent a play.
- n. Sports A rapid advance of the puck toward the opponent's goal in ice hockey.
- n. The first, unedited print of a movie scene.
- n. A time of attention, usually one in which extensive social activity occurs.
- n. A drive by a Greek society on a college campus to recruit new members: a sorority rush.
- n. The intensely pleasurable sensation experienced immediately after use of a stimulant or a mind-altering drug.
- n. A sudden, brief exhilaration: A familiar rush overtook him each time the store announced a half-price special on expensive stereo equipment.
- adj. Performed with or requiring great haste or urgency: a rush job; a rush order.
- n. Any of various stiff marsh plants of the genus Juncus, having pliant hollow or pithy stems and small flowers with scalelike perianths.
- n. Any of various similar, usually aquatic plants.
- n. The stem of one of these plants, used in making baskets, mats, and chair seats.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Any plant belonging to the order Juncaceæ, especially a plant of the genus Juncus; also extended to some sedges (Carex), horsetails (Equisetum), and a few other plants. The typical rush is Juncus effusus, the common or soft rush, marked by its dense clump of slender cylindrical leafless steams, 2 or 3 feet high, from matted creeping rootstocks, some of the stems barren, the others producing from one side a close panicle of greenish or brownish flowers. It is found in wet places nearly throughout the northern hemisphere and in many parts of the southern. Very common in North America is J. tenuis, a smaller wiry species growing among grass, and especially in old roads and cow-paths. (See
Juncus , and phrases below.) Rushes were formerly used to strew floors by way of covering. - n. A wick. Compare rush-candle.
- n. Figuratively, anything weak, worthless, or of trivial value; the merest trifle; a straw.
- n. A small patch of underwood. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.]
- n. The lemon-grass or ginger-grass, Andropogon Schœnanthus.
- n. (See nut-rush, scouring-rush, and wood-rush.)
- To gather rushes.
- 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.
- n. 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.
- n. An eager demand; a run.
- n. 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.
- n. A very successful passing of an examination, or a correct recitation.
- n. A scrimmage between classes or bodies of students. such as occurs at some American colleges.
- n. Extreme urgency of affairs; urgent pressure; such a quantity or quality of anything as to cause extraordinary effort or haste: as, a rush of business.
- n. A stampede, as of cattle, horses, etc.
- n. A company; a flock or flight, as of birds.
- n. In mining or blasting, same as spire.
- n. A feast or merrymaking. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.]
- 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.
- n. In gold-mining, a place where gold is found in quantities: so called from the rush of miners to mark out claims.
- Characterized by haste; requiring haste.
Wiktionary
- n. Any of several stiff aquatic or marsh plants of the genus Juncus, having hollow or pithy stems and small flowers.
- n. The stem of such plants used in making baskets, mats, the seats of chairs, etc.
- n. A sudden forward motion.
- n. A surge.
- n. General haste.
- n. A rapid, noisy flow.
- n. military A sudden attack; an onslaught.
- n. contact sports The act of running at another player to block or disrupt play.
- n. A sudden, brief exhilaration, for instance the pleasurable sensation produced by a stimulant.
- n. US, figuratively A regulated period of recruitment in fraternities and sororities.
- n. croquet A roquet in which the object ball is sent to a particular location on the lawn.
- v. transitive or intransitive To hurry; to perform a task with great haste.
- v. intransitive To flow rapidly or noisily.
- v. intransitive, soccer To dribble rapidly.
- v. transitive or intransitive, contact sports To run directly at another player in order to block or disrupt play.
- v. transitive To cause to move or act with unusual haste.
- v. intransitive, military To make a swift or sudden attack.
- v. military To swiftly attach to without warning.
- v. transitive To transport or carry quickly.
- v. transitive or intransitive, croquet To roquet an object ball to a particular location on the lawn..
- adj. Performed with, or requiring urgency or great haste, or done under pressure.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and Scirpus.
- n. The merest trifle; a straw.
- v. To move forward with impetuosity, violence, and tumultuous rapidity or haste.
- v. To enter into something with undue haste and eagerness, or without due deliberation and preparation.
- v. To push or urge forward with impetuosity or violence; to hurry forward.
- v. College Cant, U.S. To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error.
- n. A moving forward with rapidity and force or eagerness; a violent motion or course.
- n. colloq. Great activity with pressure.
- n. College Cant, U.S. A perfect recitation.
- n. A rusher.
- n. The act of running with the ball.
WordNet 3.0
- v. urge to an unnatural speed
- n. the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
- n. a sudden burst of activity
- adj. done under pressure
- n. a sudden forceful flow
- adj. not accepting reservations
- n. physician and American Revolutionary leader; signer of the Declaration of Independence (1745-1813)
- n. grasslike plants growing in wet places and having cylindrical often hollow stems
- v. act or move at high speed
- n. (American football) an attempt to advance the ball by running into the line
- v. run with the ball, in football
- v. move fast
- v. cause to move fast or to rush or race
- v. attack suddenly
- n. the swift release of a store of affective force
- v. cause to occur rapidly
Etymologies
- From Middle English ruschen, russchen ("to rush, startle"), from Old English hryscan, hrȳscan ("to jolt, startle"), from Proto-Germanic *hruskijanan (“to startle, drive”), *hruskanan, *hurskanan (“to be quick, be clever”), from Proto-Indo-European *kors- (“to run, hurry”). Cognate with Old High German hurscan ("to speed, accelerate"), Old English horsc ("quick, quick-witted, clever"). More at hurry. Perhaps related to Albanian rash ("I fell, precipitate"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English rushen, from Anglo-Norman russher, variant of Old French ruser, to drive back, from Latin recūsāre, to reject : re-, re- + causārī, to give as a reason (from causa, cause).Middle English, from Old English rysc. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“At nine, sharp to the tick of the clock, the _rush, rush, rush_ of a field battery's shells passed overhead.”
“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*”
“Even the term "rush hour" is a misnomer, since when we are sitting in one we certainly are not rushing anywhere!”
“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?
“(Of course the endorphin rush from the large amount of caspaicin in the chili peppers didn't hurt either!)”
“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.”
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Can Needles Soothe Wounded Warriors?
“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.”
“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.”
“Self-described "social justice advocate" Robert Massie, however, warned against what he called a "rush to judgment" among Democrats to support one candidate -- presumably Warren, who just announced her candidacy and is largely untested on the campaign trail.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rush’.
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Words that are also movies
Unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12.
vertigo, serendipity, casablanca, psycho, jaws, fantasia, stagecoach, network, rocky, giant, platoon, unforgiven and 285 more...
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movement (fast)
words describing fast action or movement
( open list, randomness, descriptive )
related:
http://www.wordnik.com...hurry, run, scamper, skip, stride, stampede, trample, scramble, dart, spring, spin, sprint and 141 more...
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Band or Brand?
Band names that are also common words or phrases.
genesis, who, beatles, journey, germs, sublime, doors, cars, nirvana, bangles, tool, pixies and 192 more...
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sound (quiet)
words for quiet sounds
( randomness, descriptive )sigh, murmur, whisper, whir, rustle, patter, hum, snap, hiss(sss), crackle, bleat, peep and 185 more...
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FUN - World of Warcraft terminology
tears, blizzard, warrior, tauren, regular, library, good duel, damage, gearscore, firelands, resurrect, Dalaran and 424 more...
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Rushes
doubtful toad-rush, baltic rush, Rush, rush, swordleaf rush, jointleaf rush, chestnut rush, colorado rush, falcate rush, tapertip rush, spiny rush, northern green rush and 24 more...
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Verbs animating cars
Verbs that tell us what the car is doing. Some are common, others are more interesting.
drive, race, start, stop, screech, turn, park, crash, zoom, wash, repair, rusting and 35 more...
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Things that are bum
A list of the most common nouns following the phrase 'a bum' on the Web, according to Bing data.
rap, ass, deal, knee, note, steer, ankle, shoulder, leg, bag, wrap, rush and 4 more...
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reginaterra's Words
purl, blow, squish, andean, generality, adaptation, lush, pack, filter, acquiesce, abstraction, sweet and 508 more...
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the gardener and apothecary's
bryony, chamomile, frond, sweet bay, laurel, monkshood, henbane, hemlock, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lady's mantle and 140 more...
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heart of darkness
yawl, sea-reach, offing, barge, sprit, estuary, yarn, aft, mizzenmast, placid, gauzy, diaphanous and 141 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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Tuesday words
just the next words that come along
nasality, transignification, lapsarian, disciple, slanguage, atwitter, avast, ahoy, asleep, awake, hymnody, glissade and 573 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Jacqueline's Words
glittery, horny, amazing, wanderlust, forlorn, lustily, nonchalant, cool, passive, submissive, roundabout, carousel and 558 more...
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for rush.

bilby "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'. Jun 6, 2009