rapid
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rap·id /'ræpɪd/ adj happening, moving, or doing something at great speed; fast: The patient made a rapid recovery. | They asked their questions in rapid succession. | The school promises rapid results in language learning. | a rapid growth in population —ly adv: the rapidly changing world of computer technology —ity /rə'pɪdəti/ —ness /'ræpɪdnəs/ n [U]
,rapid 'eye ,movement n [U] rapid movement of the eyes during sleep, thought to happen during periods when the sleeper is dreaming
'rapid-fire adj [A] 1 (of a gun) able to fire shots quickly one after the other 2 (of questions, jokes etc) spoken quickly one after the other
,rapid re'action ,force n a military force specially formed to act quickly in answer to a sudden threat to peace
,rapid-re'sponse adj [A] rapid-response forces/team/unit etc a person or group of people whose job is to react quickly to a dangerous or important situation, such as a military attack, and find a solution to the problem
rap·ids /'ræpɪdz/ also whitewater AmE — n [P] a part of a river where the water moves very fast over rocks: The canoe shot the rapids. (=passed quickly over or down them)
,rapid 'transit adj AmE of a way of moving people around a city quickly, such as by UNDERGROUND, trains etc: Los Angeles is building a subway downtown as part of its rapid transit system.
R ra·pi·er /'reɪpiə/ n a long thin sharp two-edged sword
rap·ine /'ræpaɪn||'ræpɪn/ n [U] lit the carrying away of property by force; PLUNDER
rap·ist /'reɪpɪst/ n someone guilty of RAPE
rap·pel /ræ'pel/ v [I] AmE for ABSEIL —rappel n
rap·per /'ræpə/ n [C] someone who speaks the words of a RAP (=type of popular music): world-famous rapper, Ice T
rap·port /ræ'pɔː/ n [S;U[between, with]] close agreement and understanding: to have/develop a good rapport with someone
rap·proche·ment /ræ'prɒʃm̃, ræ'prəʊʃ- ||ˌræprəʊʃ'mɑːŋ/ n [(between, with)] fml, Fr a coming together again in friendship of former enemies: At last there are signs of a rapprochement between our two countries.
rap·scal·lion /ræp'skæljən/ n old use or humor a worthless man or boy whom one is rather fond of
'rap sheet n AmE slang a paper which has a list of someone's criminal record
rapt /ræpt/ adj giving one's whole mind; ENGROSSED: We listened to her amazing story with rapt attention. —ness n [U]
rap·ture /'ræptʃə/ also raptures pl. — n [U[at, about, over]] fml great joy and delight: She went into/was in raptures at the news. —turous adj: a rapturous welcome | rapturous applause —turoously adv
Ra·pun·zel /rə'pʌnzəl/ a character in a FAIRY TALE who is kept prisoner at the top of a high tower. She is set free when she lets her very long hair hang down the side of the tower and a HANDSOME PRINCE climbs up her hair, using it like a rope, and saves her.
rare¹ /reə/ adj 1 extremely unusual or uncommon: the preservation of rare species | It's very rare for him to be late. | a rare disease 2 (especially of air) thin; light: the rare air of the mountains 3 [A] infml unusually good or extreme: You gave them a rare fright. | We had a rare old time at the party. → see also RARELY, RARITY —ness n [U]
USAGE Compare rare and scarce. Things that are uncommon, and perhaps valuable, are rare: a rare bird/coin. Ordinary useful things that we have not got enough of are scarce: Potatoes were scarce last winter. We can use rare but not scarce about time: one of my rare (=not happening often) visits to Paris. Note that rarely means 'not often' while scarcely means 'hardly, only just'.
rare² adj (of meat, especially STEAK) lightly cooked → compare WELL-DONE
rare·bit /'reəbɪt||'reər-/ n [U] → see WELSH RAREBIT
,rare 'earth n tech any of a group of rare metal substances (ELEMENTS)
rar·e·fied /'reərɪfaɪd/ adj 1 (of air in high places) light; thin, with less oxygen than usual 2 often humor limited to people who are special in some way; EXALTED: He moves in very rarefied circles; his friends are all lords.
rare·ly /'reəlɪl||'reərli/ adv not at all often: I have rarely seen/(fml) Rarely have I seen such a beautiful sunset. | He rarely, if ever, goes out. | a rarely-shown silent movie → compare SCARCELY
USAGE The word order of a sentence beginning with rarely or seldom is like that of a question: Rarely/Seldom have I heard such a strange story. → see also NEVER (USAGE)
rar·ing /'reərɪŋ/ adj [F+to-v] infml very eager: The children were raring to get out into the snow. | They were raring to go. (=eager to start)
rar·i·ty /'reərɪti/ n 1 [U] the state or quality of being RARE: These stamps have great rarity value. 2 [C] something uncommon: People who bake their own bread have become a rarity/something of a rarity.
ras·cal /'ra:skəl||'ræs-/ n 1 a dishonest person 2 humor a person, especially a child, who plays tricks or misbehaves but is regarded with fondness: You little rascal! Where have you hidden my shoes? —ly adj [old use] a rascally trick
rash¹ /ræʃ/ adj foolishly confident and not thinking enough of the results: a rash decision | I promised in a rash moment to buy the children a pet monkey. | It was rather rash of you to agree to lend them your car. —ly adv —ness n [U]
rash² n a set of red spots on the skin, caused by illness: a heat rash | He came out in (=became covered with) a rash today. | (fig.) a rash of (=a sudden large number of) complaints/accidents
rash·er /'ræʃə/ n BrE a thin piece of BACON or HAM
rasp¹ /ra:sp||ræsp/ v 1 [T] to rub with something rough: The cat's tongue rasped my hand. 2 [(on, upon);T] (of a sound) to have a rough annoying effect (on): Her loud voice rasped (on) the sick man's nerves. | a rasping sound/accent —ingly adv
rasp² n 1 [C] a metal tool for shaping wood, metal etc; rough FILE 2 [S] a sound that might be made by this tool: The rasp of metal on stone could be heard.
rasp·ber·ry /'ra:zbəri||'ræzberi/ n 1 a soft sweet usually red berry (or its bush): raspberries and cream | raspberry jam → see picture at BERRY 2 slang a rude sound made by putting one's tongue out and blowing: He blew a raspberry at the General.
Ras·pu·tin, Gri·go·ri /ræ'spju:tɪn, gri'gɔ:ri/ (1872-1916) a Russian who claimed to be a holy man, and who had a lot of power in the Russian government because of his influence over Alexandra, the wife of the Tsar (=ruler) NICHOLAS II. He was known especially for his immoral sexual behaviour and for the fact that, when he was murdered by his enemies, they had great difficulty in killing him.
Ras·ta /'ræstə/ n infml a Rastafarian
Ras·ta·fa·ri·an /ˌræstə'feəriən/ n someone who believes in a religion that is popular in Jamaica, which has Haile Selassie as its religious leader, and has the belief that black West Indians will return to Africa —Rastafarian adj —Rastafarianism n [U]
Ras·ta·man /'ræstəmæn/ n pl. -men /-men/ infml a male Rastafarian
rat¹ /ræt/ n 1 a long-tailed animal related to but larger than the mouse: rat poison | He looks like a drowned rat. (=wet and cold and uncomfortable) 2 infml a worthless disloyal person: But you promised to help us, you rat! 3 like rats deserting a sinking ship a phrase used when people are leaving a person or company that is having a lot of difficulties. Like the rats on a ship, they want to leave before it finally sinks. 4 you dirty rat quote a slightly changed phrase used as an insult by James Cagney in an American film → see also RAT RACE, RATS, RAT TRAP, smell a rat (SMELL)
rat² v -tt- [I] 1 [(on)] infml to act in a disloyal way; break a