Definition of "jackrabbit" []

• Any of several large, long-eared, long-legged hares of the genus Lepus. (noun)
• To move or begin to move rapidly or suddenly: "A rear tire blew out and the car jackrabbited out of control” ( Sonny Kleinfield). (verb-intransitive)
• Moving or beginning to move in a sudden, rapid manner: won the race with a jackrabbit start. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The white-sided jackrabbit, which is actually a hare (genus Lepus) is called liebre blanca - white hare - in Mexico, where it is found from the northern border to the state of Jalisco."
• "The jackrabbit was a pest, but the cottontail was worth getting."
• "The jackalope is an imaginary animal of North American folklore (a so-called "fearsome critter") described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail (and often hind legs)."