1 [no obj] : to move or do something very quickly or in a way that shows you are in a hurry
▪ Firefighters rushed to the accident scene. ▪ The children rushed down the stairs. ▪ She rushed past me. ▪ I rushed home from work to get ready for the party. ▪ She rushed through dinner. ▪ I'm getting everything ready tonight so I won't have to rush (around) in the morning. ▪ She rushed to close the window when she heard the rain. ▪ We were rushing to catch the bus. 2 a [+ obj] : to cause or force (someone) to do something too quickly
▪ He got nervous because they rushed him. ▪ Please stop rushing me! — often + into ▪ They rushed her into making a bad decision.
b [no obj] : to do something too quickly and often with little thought, attention, or care
▪ He rushed through his work and made a lot of careless mistakes. — often + into ▪ She rushed into (making) a bad decision. ▪ After the divorce, he rushed into another marriage. 3 always followed by an adverb or preposition [no obj] : to flow or move very quickly in a particular direction
▪ Water rushed through the pipes. ▪ The rushing water broke through the barrier. — often used figuratively ▪ When he saw her photo, memories came rushing back. 4 always followed by an adverb or preposition [+ obj] : to bring or send (someone or something) very quickly to a particular place
▪ He rushed his wife to the hospital. ▪ Supplies for the victims were rushed in. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ Lawmakers rushed the bill through Congress. 5 [+ obj] : to do (something) quickly in a short period of time
▪ He asked the clerk to rush his order. 6 [+ obj] : to run toward (someone or something) very quickly
▪ Several hostages rushed the gunman and knocked him to the ground. ▪ The crowd rushed the stage at the concert. 7 [+ obj] US a : to go through the process of becoming a member of (a fraternity or sorority)
▪ She is rushing a sorority.
b : to try to get (a student) to join a fraternity or sorority
▪ He is being rushed by a fraternity. 8 American football : to move a football down the field by running with it instead of throwing it [no obj] ▪ He rushed [=ran] for 100 yards in last week's game. = He had 100 yards rushing in last week's game. ▪ The team has a strong rushing defense/attack. [+ obj] ▪ He rushed [=ran] the ball for 100 yards in last week's game.