A jackrabbit is a large, long-eared hare found in the open plains and deserts of western North America. Despite its name, a jackrabbit isn't actually a rabbit at all: it's a hare, which means it's bigger, faster, and built differently than the rabbits you might see in someone's backyard.

Jackrabbits are famous for their incredible speed and agility. When threatened by a coyote or hawk, a jackrabbit can sprint up to 40 miles per hour and leap 10 feet in a single bound, zigzagging unpredictably to escape predators. Their enormous ears, which can be six inches long, work like natural radiators to keep them cool in the scorching desert heat and can swivel independently to detect danger from any direction.

The word can also be used as a verb: to jackrabbit means to start moving forward suddenly and quickly, like how a car might jackrabbit away from a stoplight when the driver accelerates too quickly.