hare

Hares are animals that are closely related to rabbits but larger, with longer ears and hind legs. Remember the overconfident animal that lost a race against a tortoise in Aesop's famous fable? That was a hare!

Hares and rabbits look very similar, but they're completely different species. Rabbits burrow, while hares stay above ground and give birth in nests in the grass. Unlike rabbits, hares are furry when they're born and able to see and move around independently. Their diets are even different — rabbits like grasses and vegetables, while hares dine on twigs and bark. And while you can keep a rabbit as a pet, hares haven't been domesticated.

Definitions of hare
  1. noun
    swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes
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    types:
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    leveret
    a young hare especially one in its first year
    European hare, Lepus europaeus
    large hare introduced in North America; does not turn white in winter
    jackrabbit
    large hare of western North America
    Arctic hare, Lepus arcticus, polar hare
    a large hare of northern North America; it is almost completely white in winter
    Lepus americanus, snowshoe hare, snowshoe rabbit, varying hare
    large large-footed North American hare; white in winter
    Lepus townsendi, white-tailed jackrabbit, whitetail jackrabbit
    largest hare of northern plains and western mountains of United States; brownish-grey in summer and pale grey in winter; tail nearly always all white
    Lepus californicus, blacktail jackrabbit
    the common jackrabbit of grasslands and open areas of western United States; has large black-tipped ears and black streak on the tail
    type of:
    leporid, leporid mammal
    rabbits and hares
  2. noun
    flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food
    synonyms: rabbit
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    type of:
    game
    the flesh of wild animals that is used for food
  3. verb
    run quickly, like a hare
    “He hared down the hill”
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    type of:
    run
    move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
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