I. ˈrəsh noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English rish, resh, rush, from Old English risc, resc, rysc; akin to Middle Low German risch, rüsch rush, Middle Dutch & Middle High German rusch, Norwegian rusk, ryskje hair grass, Latin restis rope, cord, Sanskrit rajju rope, cord, Lithuanian reksti to plait, bind, tie
1.
a. : any of various plants especially of the genera Juncus and Scirpus the cylindrical and often hollow stems of which are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting mats and the pith of which is used in some places for wicks and rushlights
b. : any of various other plants resembling rush
c. : cattail
2. : the merest trifle : straw
not even worth a rush
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English russhen, from rish, resh, rush, n.
transitive verb
: to strew with, work with, or make with rushes
intransitive verb
: to gather rushes
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English russhen, from Middle French reuser, ruser, to put to flight, repel, retreat, from Latin recusare to object to, reject, refuse — more at recusant
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move forward or progress with speed often impetuously and sometimes with violence or tumult
servants rushed in and out piling up a variety of food — Heinrich Harrer
the gate was open and the Indians rushed in — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
b. : to act with haste, precipitation, or eagerness, typically with impatience at delay or without due consideration or preparation
the complaining parties … rush blindly on the superficial causes of their immediate distress — J.A.Froude
rushing in with brand-new solutions without consulting the party — Leslie Roberts
men who should have known better rushed into print — W.E.Swinton
2.
a. : to flow or fall very rapidly and often noisily : dart or move quickly
flames … rushing up in long lances — John Muir †1914
skim along … at fifty miles an hour with the air rushing in — Tom Marvel
the brook … rushes over a precipice in two cascades — American Guide Series: Connecticut
b. : to surge up rapidly and forcefully to a dominating degree
all the horror rushed over her afresh — Ellen Glasgow
tenderness rushed upon him — Christine Weston
old times rushed back upon me — the remembrance of old services — W.M.Thackeray
3. : to act as carrier of a football in a running play
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to thrust or force often ruthlessly or violently
thy fault our law calls death; but the kind Prince … hath rushed aside the law — Shakespeare
2. : to cause to go forward at a high rate of speed
able to guess when new gales … would rush the line of snowstorms out to sea — J.A.Michener
3.
a. : to move quickly and often heedlessly without thought
seemed to be rushing himself and others into trouble — Walter Lippmann
b. : to impel or hurry on or forward with marked speed, impetuosity, or violence
was able to rush into the field three regiments of militia — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
rushed her to the hospital — Morris Fishbein
didn't want to be rushed into marriage — Floyd Dell
c. : to perform, execute, or deliver in a notably short time or at high speed
decided that the work … was to be rushed — Mary Austin
the same class of ambitious leaders rushed it into statehood — D.Y.Thomas
4. : to urge to an unnaturally rapid progress or pace
better not to rush young children too much, even if they are unusual — Charles Angoff
the department stores always seem to rush the season
had been really rushed yesterday
5. : to run towards or against in attack : vanquish , overpower : break in by charge or onset
rushed the enemy group, bayoneted their leader — H.L.Merillat
if you hear three shots, rush the door — Laura Krey
6. : to roquet (a ball) so that it travels a considerable distance
7.
a. : to carry (a ball) forward in a running play
b. : to move in quickly on (a kicker or passer) so as to hinder, prevent, or block a kick or pass
8.
a. : to lavish attention on : court assiduously : have frequent dates with
has been rushing that girl for nearly three months
b. : to entertain especially at parties and dances in order to secure a pledge of membership
the sorority decided to rush fewer girls this year
Synonyms:
dash , tear , shoot , charge : rush suggests either impetuosity or intense hurry on account of some exigency, with carelessness about the concomitant effects of the precipitate action
a flying rout of suns and galaxies, rushing away from the solar system — E.M.Forster
business rushed forward into the glittering years — American Guide Series: Ind.
dash is now likely to suggest running or moving at a wild unrestrained top speed
gyroscopically controlled trains that can make 150 miles an hour … and dash across an abyss on a steel cable — Waldemar Kaempffert
dash'd on like a spurred blood-horse in a race — Lord Byron
tear , in this sense, may suggest extreme swiftness with impetus, violence, and abandon
then he tore out of the study — Agnes S. Turnbull
disheveled atoms tear along at 100 miles a second — Waldemar Kaempffert
shoot may imply the precipitate headlong rushing or darting of something impelled, as though discharged from a gun
leaped to one side and out of reach of those wicked horns. The bull shot past — F.B.Gipson
the Bridal Veil shoots free from the upper edge of the cliff by the velocity the stream has acquired — John Muir †1914
shooting out in their motorcars on errands of mystery — Virginia Woolf
charge is likely to suggest a rapid, violent onslaught gathering forceful momentum calculated to overpower
down we swept and charged and overthrew — Alfred Tennyson
one morning he charged — he was a very burly man — into Rossetti's studio — Osbert Sitwell
•
- rush the growler
IV. noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English, from russhen, v.
1.
a. : a moving forward with rapidity and force or eagerness : a swift sometimes violent motion or course onset
a rush was made at the first three food-laden wagons — F.V.W.Mason
a whole load of earth fell with a rush — Liam O'Flaherty
b. : a sound of or as if of swift movement
the idea may come with a rush of wings — Harriet Monroe
heard the rush of the distant waterfall
c. : a surging usually of some deeply felt emotion
a rush of moral indignation — V.S.Pritchett
sat back with a curious little rush of excitement — Ann Bridge
a quick rush of sympathy — Gordon Cuyler
2.
a. : an unusual burst of activity, productivity, or speed usually because of pressure or accumulation
the rush … to locate and tap new and improved sources of raw materials — V.G.Iden
buy in a wild Saturday morning rush or go without what you need — Nathaniel Peffer
the patient had peristaltic rushes
b. : a sudden insistent and usually eager demand
caused a rush among American banking houses to retain him as their legal counsel — Current Biography
was assured of a box-office rush — Newsweek
the height of the Christmas rush — Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
3. : a thronging of many people usually to some new place ; especially : gold rush
the second season of the great California rush — Cliff Farrell
most men who have known the excitement of a rush always remain prospectors at heart — American Guide Series: Nevada
4. : the act of carrying a football during a game : running play
sped 56 yards with the kickoff and got three more on a rush — Allison Danzig
5. : a contest or trial of strength between two classes or delegations of two classes usually in a school or university
the day of the big freshman rush , in which the sophomores would … try to prevent the freshmen from charging — Edmund Wilson
6. : a round of assiduous attention usually involving extensive social activity
seem to be giving her quite a rush — Hamilton Basso
7. : an advance positive print of a motion-picture scene processed directly after the shooting for review by the director or producer — often used in plural
•
- at a rush
V. adjective
1. : involving haste : requiring special speed usually in preparation, process, or action
rush orders for coffee and doughnuts — Robertson Davies
2. : characterized by a press of activity for students being considered for fraternity or sorority membership
rush week
3. : characterized by maximum activity
transatlantic liner business will swing into the annual rush season — George Horne b.1902
the worst delays … took place not in cities but in suburban towns at the rush commuting hours — Hal Burton
VI. noun
1. : the immediate pleasurable feeling produced by a drug (as heroin or amphetamine) — called also flash
2. : a feeling of pleasure or euphoria : thrill : bang : kick