rush

Meaning

Noun

1. Any of several stiff plants of the genus Juncus, or the family Juncaceae, having hollow or pithy stems and small flowers, and often growing in marshes or near water.
2. The stem of such plants used in making baskets, mats, the seats of chairs, etc.
3. The merest trifle; a straw.
4. A wick.

Verb

1. To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
2. To flow or move forward rapidly or noisily.
3. To dribble rapidly.
4. To run directly at another player in order to block or disrupt play.
5. To cause to move or act with unusual haste.
6. To make a swift or sudden attack.
7. To swiftly attack without warning.
8. (slang) To attack (an opponent) with a large swarm of units.
9. To transport or carry quickly.
10. To roquet an object ball to a particular location on the lawn.
11. To attempt to join a fraternity or sorority, often involving a hazing or initiation process.
12. (slang) To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error.
13. To play at a faster tempo than one is supposed to or than the other musicians one is playing with, or to inadvertently gradually increase tempo while one is playing.

Adj

Performed with, or requiring urgency or great haste, or done under pressure, especially if therefore done badly.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹʌʃ/

Etymology

From Middle English risshe, rusch, risch, from Old English rysċ, rysċe, risċ, risċe, from a merger of Proto-West Germanic *riskijā, from Proto-Indo-European *(H)resg- (“to weave”) and Proto-West Germanic *ruskijā, borrowed from Latin rūscum (“butcher's broom”), of unknown origin + *-jā (animal and plant suffix). Cognates include West Frisian risk, Dutch rus (“bulrush”), Norwegian Bokmål rusk, dialectal Norwegian ryskje (“hair-grass”). Further cognates include Russian розга (rozga).