Home UK English hare

Meaning of hare in English:

hare

Pronunciation /hɛː/

Translate hare into Spanish

noun

  • 1A fast-running, long-eared mammal that resembles a large rabbit, having very long hind legs and typically found in grassland or open woodland.

    Lepus and other genera, family Leporidae: several species

    ‘European game animals include various deer, wild boar, hare, and rabbit.’
    • ‘Three species of hares are native to California, the snowshoe, black-tailed, and white-tailed.’
    • ‘He said: ‘I've noticed an increase in birds and a lot more hares since the grassland has been in place.’’
    • ‘In a peak year for hares, the hares edged out the voles as a source of meat for both adult owls and their owlets.’
    • ‘The reserve is also home to mountain reedbucks, common duikers, hares, guinea fowl and butterflies.’
    • ‘Traditional methods of using beating and hunting dogs are also engaged to corner and hunt muntjacs, wild boars and blacknaped hares.’
    • ‘The recent Burns Report into hunting concluded that hunting with dogs ‘seriously compromised the welfare’ of foxes, deer, hares and mink.’
    • ‘Moors and heaths would have supported populations of wild horses and cattle, hares, wild goats and smaller creatures like voles, snakes and lizards.’
    • ‘Wildlife, particularly rabbits and hares, act as reservoirs of disease.’
    • ‘Rabbits, hares, and a few other species make up the Lagomorpha.’
    • ‘Most hunts say there are enough options open to them within the legislation to allow foxes, hares and deer to be legally chased by hounds, though guns may need to be used for the kill.’
    • ‘All young broadleaf sites should be adequately fenced with rabbit wire to prevent damage from rabbits and hares.’
    • ‘Rabbits and hares are a universal pest, particularly while vineyards are being established.’
    • ‘We who hunted rabbits, hares, pigeons and pheasants as part of our wintry routine were certainly aware of the mad March hare days.’
    • ‘As any schoolchild knows, hares don't live down burrows, rabbits do; hares live above ground at all times.’
    • ‘The family Leporidae consists of 11 genera and around 54 species, commonly known as hares and rabbits.’
    • ‘Deer, hares, rabbits, mice, rats, pigeons, crows and many insects have to be ‘controlled’ in order for these crops to thrive.’
    • ‘Woodpigeons are attacking what is left of the cabbage and sprout crops and damage by rabbits and hares has been reported to apple trees in the area.’
    • ‘Other causes of damage in young trees can be grazing by animals such as hare and rabbits and trespass by cattle or sheep.’
    • ‘Animals such as deer, boar, hares and rabbits lived in woodland surrounding most villages.’
    1. 1.1A dummy hare propelled around the track in greyhound racing.
      ‘The Legend of the Mick the Miller is both touching and funny, yet Michael Tanner's tale of the greatest greyhound ever to chase a mechanical hare is ultimately flawed.’
      • ‘And let's face it, you don't hear people at the greyhound track complaining that the hare's not real, do you?’
      • ‘They are, essentially, a covered bike rack for dogs, designed to line them up and point them unarguably in the same direction ready for the key moment when the hare goes by.’
      • ‘When Franklin decides on an objective, he pursues it with the mad resolve of a greyhound chasing a mechanical hare.’
      • ‘The programme did, however, contain something rare and more thought-provoking - a clip from a greyhound race in which a dog caught the hare.’

verb

British no object, with adverbial of direction

  • Run with great speed.

    ‘he hared off between the trees’
    • ‘Mutu leaves Toure for dead, hares down the left wing and shoots from a narrow angle.’
    • ‘Then Harry came haring out of the bathroom like some over-protective mother bear and just about bit my head off.’
    • ‘He has already been haring about this morning, giving awards to schoolchildren and meeting with constituents.’
    • ‘The hillock did, indeed, provide a good vantage point as we watched the colourful parade of racing cars haring around the corner in front of us.’
    • ‘Sarah Jane spent most of the day haring across the lawn with arms waving all over the place looking like a very well dressed windmill.’
    • ‘The Saudi No23, whose name I don't know, hares past him and hooks a last-ditch cross behind the goalkeeper and across the face of goal.’
    • ‘Young people should settle into communes rather than keep haring from flat to flat in a vain attempt to keep up with the labour market.’
    • ‘The sight of vintage McAllister haring up the wing, a trail of defenders made to look like lumpen bystanders in his wake, thrilled us all.’
    • ‘He hared off down Cirencester Way, going the wrong way up the road and weaving in and out of traffic.’
    • ‘Surely it's worth stepping off at Tours, taking in a Loire chateau or two, before haring down to the Atlantic.’
    • ‘Henry hares through the centre and is brought down outside the penalty area by Dede, who sees yellow.’
    • ‘Time and again I drive around a tight bend to be confronted by a high-speed bike haring towards me on my side of the road, having taken the bend way too wide.’
    • ‘The burly prop forward, suddenly found himself at the tail of a line-out with the ball in his hands and he pinned back his ears and hared towards the line.’
    • ‘Button is a fine driver, but even non-petrolheads know the crucial difference between him and thousands of kids haring around the backstreets of every major city from Sao Paulo to Sydney.’
    • ‘I looked up towards the top of the road and saw silver Mercedes haring down.’
    • ‘Edwards hares down the right and nearly latches onto a through ball from Birchall.’
    • ‘We'd been there for about a week, sat outside our teepee smoking weed, when suddenly there was this huge commotion at the stockade, and this motorbike comes haring down towards the lake.’
    • ‘Kryszalowicz hares down the left wing and the ball is cleared by Frechaut for a throw.’
    • ‘Mpenza hares down the wing, pulls the ball back to his captain who shoots.’
    • ‘When we left, about twoish, Vic just hared away from the front door and ran down the street.’
    be quick, hurry up, move quickly, go fast, hasten, make haste, speed, speed up, lose no time, press on, push on, run, dash, rush, hurtle, dart, race, fly, flash, shoot, streak, bolt, bound, blast, charge, chase, career, scurry, scramble, scamper, scuttle, sprint, gallop, go hell for leather, go like lightning

Phrases

    run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
    British

    • Try to remain on good terms with both sides in a conflict or dispute.

      ‘Or maybe, they wanted to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘The Washington Post has recently reported how the president continues to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘The reality is that you cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘This is not an issue in which, to use the Least of New Labour of metaphors, he can run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘Experiment calls Beuys's work to mind - it tries to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘This disease of taking the law into one's hands has its inspiration from the fact that the Government is trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
      • ‘It has chosen to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’
    start a hare
    British dated

    • Raise a topic of conversation.

      ‘It is annoying though, for the bank to produce these bonds decades after the event and start a hare running.’
      • ‘I have started a hare so to speak by seeking here in UK for names of possible settlers - as yet unknown.’
      • ‘Meanwhile, he has handed Mr Hague an advantage by appearing to start a hare running only to shoot it down as soon as it appeared to be getting somewhere.’
      • ‘On the noble Lord's latter point, I do not want to start a hare running, but for years and years lead in paint was thought to be appropriate.’
      • ‘I was just joking… didn't want to start a hare!’
      • ‘Having started a hare running about possible advertising on the ABC, then denied it, the Communications Minister Helen Coonan has now restructured the ABC board.’

Origin

Old English hara, of Germanic origin: related to Dutch haas and German Hase.