: 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 rabbitsense 1a
hare
2 of 2
verb
hared; haring
intransitive verb
: to go swiftly : tearentry 1
hare off down the road
Did you know?
You're most likely familiar with 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.
Synonyms
Verb
barrel
belt
blast
blaze
blow
bolt
bomb [slang]
bowl
breeze
bundle
bustle
buzz
cannonball
careen
career
chase
course
crack (on)
dash
drive
fly
hasten
hie
highball
hotfoot (it)
hump
hurl
hurry
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms
Example Sentences
Verb He came haring round the corner at top speed. she's always haring off to attend to some emergency
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Lost in the woods, Antoinette falls asleep and awakens, her head resting against Patrick’s belly, their closeness watched by a curious deer, a wing-flapping owl, a fox, and a gamboling hare. Armond White, National Review, 27 July 2022 As the central bank raises interest rates, remember the tortoise, the hare and Milton Friedman. Alan S. Blinder, WSJ, 20 July 2022 This verse is kind of a turtle and the hare sort of story. Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 11 July 2022 This is where being the tortoise instead of the hare may be the better path to stable, long-term growth. Jason Hennessey, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2022 Removing this gene prevented the virus from infecting or replicating within host hare cells. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 6 June 2022 The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious roles down through the years. Tok Thompson, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2022 As hare populations increase, so do those of their predators: lynx and coyotes.Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2021 Cast Cincinnati Reds triple-digit wonder Hunter Greene as the speedy hare. Steve Hensonassistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2022
Verb
Crafting an opinion that nine individuals can all agree on is also likely to result in a judicial consistency that won’t shift with changing political tides, or hare off too far and fast in a particular direction. Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2022 Karius looked stricken as the game ticked through its final minutes, as Cristiano Ronaldo hared around, desperately searching for the goal that would allow him his moment in the spotlight. Rory Smith, New York Times, 27 May 2018 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, 4 Apr. 2018 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English hara; akin to Old High German haso hare, Sanskrit śaśa, Old English hasu gray
Verb
derivative of hare entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
circa 1893, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing hare
hare and hounds
sea hare
snowshoe hare
varying hare
arctic hare
Belgian hare
hare and hounds
sea hare
snowshoe hare
varying hare
arctic hare
Belgian hare
Kids Definition
hare
noun
ˈher
: a gnawing animal that resembles the related rabbit but is usually larger and tends to live by itself
haring
verb
present participle of hare
as in hurrying
to proceed or move quickly she's always haring off to attend to some emergency