Rush , n.
1. A moving
forward with rapidity and force or eagerness; a violent motion or course; as,
a rush of troops; a rush of winds; a rush of
water.
A
gentleman of his train spurred up his horse, and, with a violent rush, severed him from the
duke.
Sir H. Wotton. 2. Great activity with pressure; as, a rush
of business.
[Colloq.]
3. A perfect recitation.
[College Cant, U.S.]
4. (Football) (a)
A rusher; as, the center rush, whose place is in the center of the
rush line; the end rush. (b)
The act of running with the ball.
Bunt rush (Football),
a combined rush by main
strength. -- Rush
line (Football),
the line composed of rushers.
Rush , v. t. 1. To
push or urge forward with impetuosity or violence; to hurry forward.
2. To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error. [College Cant, U.S.]
Rush (rŭsh), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rushed (rŭsht); p. pr. & vb. n. Rushing.]
[OE. ruschen; cf.
AS. hryscan to make a noise,
D. ruischen to rustle, G. rauschen, MHG.
rūschen to rush, to rustle, LG. rusken, OSw. ruska, Icel. &
Sw. ruska to shake, Dan. ruske to shake, and E.
rouse.] 1. To move forward with impetuosity, violence,
and tumultuous rapidity or haste; as, armies rush to battle; waters rush down a precipice.
Like to an
entered tide, they all rush by.
Shak. 2.
To enter into something with undue haste and eagerness, or without due deliberation and preparation; as, to rush business or speculation.
They . . . never think it to be a part of religion to rush into the office of princes and ministers.
Sprat.
Rush (?), n. [OE.
rusche, rische, resche, AS.
risce, akin to LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.]
1. (Bot.) A name given
to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous
plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and
Scirpus.
&fist; Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting mats, and the pith is
used in some places for wicks to lamps and rushlights.
2. The merest trifle; a straw.
John Bull's friendship is not worth a
rush.
Arbuthnot.
Bog rush. See under Bog. -- Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus. -- Flowering rush. See under Flowering. -- Nut
rush (a)
Any plant of the genus
Scleria, rushlike plants with hard nutlike fruits.
(b) A name for several species of Cyperus having tuberous roots.
-- Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant
(Viminaria denudata), having long, slender branches. Also, the Spanish broom. See under Spanish. -- Rush candle, See under Candle. --
Rush grass, any grass of
the genus Vilfa, grasses
with wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets. --
Rush toad (Zoöl.), the natterjack. -- Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch. -- Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the
genus Eleocharis, in which the flowers grow in dense
spikes. -- Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc. (Andropogon
schœnanthus), used in
Oriental medical practice. -- Wood rush, any plant of the
genus Luzula, which
differs in some technical characters from
Juncus.
Hear it pronounced