rush1

 
Pronunciation: /rʌʃ/

verb

  • 1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] move with urgent haste: Oliver rushed after her I rushed outside and hailed a taxi
  • (of air or a liquid) flow strongly: the water rushed in through the great oaken gates
  • [no object] act with great haste: as soon as the campaign started they rushed into action [with infinitive]: shoppers rushed to buy computers
  • [with object] force (someone) to act hastily: I don’t want to rush you into something
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] take (someone) somewhere with great haste: an ambulance was waiting to rush him to hospital
  • [with two objects] deliver (something) quickly to (someone): we’ll rush you a copy at once
  • (rush something out) produce and distribute something very quickly: a rewritten textbook was rushed out last autumn
  • [with object] deal with (something) hurriedly: panic measures were rushed through parliament
  • [with object] dash towards (someone or something) in an attempt to attack or capture: to rush the bank and fire willy-nilly could be disastrous for everyone
  • 2 [with object] American Football advance towards (an opposing player, especially the quarterback): a linebacker who was gifted in rushing the quarterback
  • [no object] run from scrimmage with the ball: he rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries
  • 3 [with object] US entertain (a new student) in order to assess suitability for membership of a college fraternity or sorority: (as noun rushing) athletics and fraternity rushing were much more important than anything that happened to you in the classroom
  • 4 [with object] British informal, dated overcharge (a customer): They rushed you, all right! It’s not worth a penny more than £120

noun

  • 1a sudden quick movement towards something, typically by a number of people: there was a rush for the door
  • a sudden flow or flood: she felt a rush of cold air
  • a flurry of hasty activity: the pre-Christmas rush [as modifier]: a rush job
  • a sudden strong demand for a commodity: there’s been a rush on the Western News because of the murder
  • a sudden intense feeling: Mark felt a rush of anger
  • informal a sudden thrill or feeling of euphoria such as experienced after taking certain drugs: users experience a rush
  • 2 American Football an act of advancing forward, especially towards the quarterback.
  • 3 (rushes) the first prints made of a film after a period of shooting: after the shoot the agency team will see the rushes

Phrases

rush one's fences

British act with undue haste: although they had created an expectation of radical reform, his team were not going to rush their fences

a rush of blood (to the head)

a sudden attack of wild irrationality: what lost us the match was a rush of blood to the head when they had the man sent off

Derivatives

rusher

noun

rushingly

adverb

Origin:

late Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old French ruser 'drive back', an early sense of the word in English (see ruse)