Adjacent Words

Rapid definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RAP'ID, a. [L. rapidus, from rapio, the primary sense of which is to rush.]
1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; as a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion.
Part shun the goal with rapid wheels.
2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; as rapid growth; rapid improvement.
3. Of quick utterance of words; as a rapid speaker.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: done or occurring in a brief period of time; "a rapid rise through the ranks"
2: characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving with high speed; "a rapid movement"; "a speedy car"; "a speedy errand boy" [syn: rapid, speedy] n
1: a part of a river where the current is very fast

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Latin rapidus seizing, sweeping, rapid, from rapere to seize, sweep away; akin to Lithuanian apr?pti to embrace Date: 1634 marked by a fast rate of motion, activity, succession, or occurrence Synonyms: see fast • rapidly adverb • rapidness noun II. noun Date: 1765 a part of a river where the current is fast and the surface is usually broken by obstructions — usually used in plural but sing. or plural in constr.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. (rapider, rapidest) 1 quick, swift. 2 acting or completed in a short time. 3 (of a slope) descending steeply. 4 Photog. fast. --n. (usu. in pl.) a steep descent in a river-bed, with a swift current. Phrases and idioms: rapid eye-movement a type of jerky movement of the eyes during periods of dreaming. rapid-fire (attrib.) fired, asked, etc., in quick succession. rapid transit (attrib.) denoting high-speed urban transport of passengers. Derivatives: rapidity n. rapidly adv. rapidness n. Etymology: L rapidus f. rapere seize

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rapid Rap"id, a. [L. rapidus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch or hurry away; perhaps akin to Gr. ?; cf. F. rapide. Cf. Harpy, Ravish.] 1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as, a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion. Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels. --Milton. 2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence; as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid succession. 3. Quick in execution; as, a rapid penman.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rapid Rap"id, n. [Cf. F. rapide. See Rapid, a.] The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; -- usually in the plural; as, the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A rapid change is one that happens very quickly. ...the country's rapid economic growth in the 1980's... ...the rapid decline in the birth rate in Western Europe. ADJ: usu ADJ n • rapidly ...countries with rapidly growing populations... = fast ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj • rapidity ...the rapidity with which the weather can change. = speed N-UNCOUNT 2. A rapid movement is one that is very fast. He walked at a rapid pace along Charles Street. ...whether the Tunnel will provide more rapid car transport than ferries... ADJ: usu ADJ n • rapidly He was moving rapidly around the room... = quickly ADV: ADV with v • rapidity The water rushed through the holes with great rapidity. = speed

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Swift, quick, fleet, fast. 2. Speedy, fast, hasty, quick. 3. Brisk, hasty, hurried, expeditious, quick.

Moby Thesaurus

abrupt, agile, alacritous, bluff, bold, breakneck, brisk, ceaseless, chattering, chute, constant, continual, dashing, double-quick, eagle-winged, expeditious, express, fast, fleet, flying, galloping, hair-trigger, hasty, headlong, high-speed, hurried, hustling, immediate, impetuous, incessant, instant, instantaneous, light of heel, light-footed, lively, machine gun, mercurial, nimble, nimble-footed, oscillating, perennial, perpetual, plunging, precipitate, precipitous, prompt, pulsating, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, rapids, reckless, regular, repeated, riff, riffle, ripple, running, sault, sharp, sheer, shoot, snappy, spanking, speedy, staccato, steady, steep, stuttering, sudden, sustained, swift, unbroken, unceasing, unchanging, unintermitted, unintermittent, unintermitting, uninterrupted, unremitting, unstopped, unvarying, vertical, vibrating, winged