ETYM Old Eng. rabet, akin to OD. robbe, robbeken.
(Homonym: rabbet).
1. Any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food; SYN. coney, cony.
2. Flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food; SYN. hare.
Any of several genera of hopping mammals of the order Lagomorpha, which together with hares constitute the family Leporidae. Rabbits differ from hares in bearing naked, helpless young and in occupying burrows.
The Old World rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), originally from S Europe and N Africa, has now been introduced worldwide. It is bred for meat and for its fur, which is usually treated to resemble more expensive furs. It lives in interconnected burrows called “warrens”, unlike cottontails (genus Sylvilagus), of which 13 species are native to North and South America.

1. A figure of a rabbit sped mechanically along the edge of a dog track as an object of pursuit
2. A runner in a long-distance race who sets a fast pace for the field in the first part of the race

To hunt rabbits.