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Entry 4 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Rapid

/(răp"ĭd)/ · Rap·id · IPA /ˈɹæpɪd/
01 a. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as, a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion.
  1. 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. 2.
    Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence; as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid succession.
  3. 3.
    Quick in execution; as, a rapid penman.
02 n. The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; sometimes called whitewater; -- …
  1. 1.
    The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; sometimes called whitewater; -- usually used in the plural; as, the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence. For boaters on the river, it is a place that can be hazardous, with danger of capsizing or crashing into large rocks. Also: whitewater
    “Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast, The rapids are near, and the daylight's past.” — Moore.