adrenaline rush

American

[uh-dren-l-in ruhsh] / əˈdrɛn l ɪn ˌrʌʃ /

noun

a sudden, intense feeling of exhilaration or excitement caused by or as if by a surge of adrenaline.

It's the adrenaline rush and the intensity of the competition that I most look forward to.
These folks eat, breathe, and sleep roller coasters and can never get enough of an adrenaline rush.

Etymology

Origin of adrenaline rush

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But then it's finished "and there's a bit of baby blues afterwards," as she comes down off the adrenaline rush.

From Barron's

Novak Djokovic said Saturday he still gets a "drug-like" adrenaline rush from tennis and is not thinking about retiring anytime soon.

From Barron's

Skeptics sat down with the first season assuming that Wyle, Gemmill and their fellow executive producer John Wells were trying to recapture their “ER” glory days, only to plunge into an hour-by-hour, heart-forward adrenaline rush more akin to “24,” minus the demand that the audience ignore the realities of crosstown gridlock in Los Angeles.

From Salon

“It was an adrenaline rush until the end after that. It just took a little confidence.”

From The Wall Street Journal

View that as a parable if you wish, or simply enjoy the adrenaline rush.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023