I. rush 1 S2 W3 /rʌʃ/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ruser 'to drive back, deceive' , from Latin recusare ; RECUSE ]
1 . MOVE QUICKLY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to move very quickly, especially because you need to be somewhere very soon SYN hurry :
A small girl rushed past her.
Mo rushed off down the corridor.
2 . rush to do something to do something very quickly and without delay:
I rushed to pack my suitcase before she came back.
He rushed to help his comrade.
3 . DO SOMETHING TOO QUICKLY [intransitive and transitive] to do or decide something too quickly, especially so that you do not have time to do it carefully or well:
He does not intend to rush his decision.
rush into
I’m not rushing into marriage again.
rush through
She rushed through her script.
rush it/things
When we first met, neither of us wanted to rush things.
4 . TAKE/SEND URGENTLY [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to take or send someone or something somewhere very quickly, especially because of an unexpected problem
rush somebody/something to something
The Red Cross rushed medical supplies to the war zone.
Dan was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries.
5 . MAKE SOMEBODY HURRY [transitive] to try to make someone do something more quickly than they want to:
I’m sorry to rush you, but we need a decision by Friday.
rush somebody into (doing) something
They felt they were being rushed into choosing a new leader.
6 . LIQUID [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if water or another liquid rushes somewhere, it moves quickly:
Water rushed through the gorge.
7 . BLOOD blood rushes to sb’s face/cheeks used to say that someone’s face becomes red because they feel embarrassed:
I felt the blood rush to my face as I heard my name.
8 . ATTACK [transitive] to attack a person or place suddenly and in a group:
They rushed the guard and stole his keys.
9 . AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES American English
a) [transitive] to give parties for students, have meetings etc, in order to decide whether to let them join your ↑ fraternity or ↑ sorority (=type of club)
b) [intransitive and transitive] to go through the process of trying to be accepted into one of these clubs
10 . AMERICAN FOOTBALL [intransitive and transitive] to carry the ball forward
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THESAURUS
▪ rush to move very quickly, especially because you need to be somewhere soon:
He was rushing out of his office in order to go to a meeting.
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There’s no need to rush - we have plenty of time.
▪ hurry to do something or go somewhere more quickly than usual, especially because there is not much time:
People hurried into stores to escape the rain.
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You ll have to hurry or we 'll be late for breakfast
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I hurried through the rest of my workout and showered as quickly as I could.
▪ race to go somewhere as fast as you can:
She raced downstairs to tell her mother.
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He raced back to his car and called for help.
▪ tear to run very quickly and without really looking where you are going, because you are in a hurry:
I saw two boys tearing across the field towards the tree.
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He tore down the stairs and out of the house.
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They tore out of the building.
▪ dash to run somewhere very fast, especially only a short distance:
Bob dashed across the road to his friend’s house.
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Her heart was pumping furiously as she dashed through the kitchen to the front door.
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I dashed outside to try to rescue the unfortunate creature.
▪ hustle American English informal to hurry when you are doing something or going somewhere:
You better hustle or you’re going to miss the school bus.
▪ hasten literary to hurry somewhere, especially because you need to do something:
Suddenly frightened, she hastened back to where her friends were standing.
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She took a deep breath and then hastened after him.
rush around ( also rush about British English ) phrasal verb
to try to do a lot of things in a short period of time:
Get things ready early so that you don’t have to rush around at the last minute.
rush something ↔ out phrasal verb
to make a new product, book etc available for sale very quickly:
The new edition was rushed out just before Christmas.
rush something ↔ through phrasal verb
to deal with official or government business more quickly than usual
rush something through something
The legislation was rushed through parliament.
II. rush 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1-6, 7-8: Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ rush 1 ]
[ Sense 6: Language: Old English ; Origin: risc ]
1 . FAST MOVEMENT [singular] a sudden fast movement of things or people
rush of air/wind/water
She felt a cold rush of air as she wound down her window.
in a rush
Her words came out in a rush.
At five past twelve there was a mad rush to the dinner hall.
2 . HURRY [singular, uncountable] a situation in which you need to hurry:
I knew there would be a last-minute rush to meet the deadline.
Don’t worry, there’s no rush. We don’t have to be at the station until 10.
do something in a rush (=do something quickly because you need to hurry)
I had to do my homework in a rush because I was late.
be in a rush
I’m sorry, I can’t talk now – I’m in a rush.
3 . BUSY PERIOD the rush the time in the day, month, year etc when a place or group of people is particularly busy ⇨ peak :
The café is quiet until the lunchtime rush begins.
the Christmas rush
⇨ ↑ rush hour
4 . PEOPLE WANTING SOMETHING [singular] a situation in which a lot of people suddenly try to do or get something
rush on
There’s always a rush on swimsuits in the hot weather.
rush to do something
the rush to put computers in all schools
⇨ ↑ gold rush
5 . FEELING [singular]
a) informal a sudden strong, usually pleasant feeling that you get from taking a drug or from doing something exciting ⇨ high :
The feeling of power gave me such a rush.
an adrenalin rush
b) rush of anger/excitement/gratitude etc a sudden very strong feeling of anger etc:
I felt a rush of excitement when she arrived.
A rush of jealousy swept through her.
6 . PLANT [countable usually plural] a type of tall grass that grows in water, often used for making baskets
7 . FILM rushes [plural] the first prints of a film before it has been ↑ edit ed SYN dailies American English
8 . AMERICAN STUDENTS [uncountable] American English the time when students in American universities who want to join a ↑ fraternity or ↑ sorority (=type of club) go to a lot of parties in order to try to be accepted:
rush week