The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur.

[4] The specific name, arcticus, is also borrowed from Latin, and is more directly derived from the Greek ἀρκτικός (arktikos), "near the Bear, northern".

[5][6] In the Cree language, the Arctic hare is named meestapoos, coming from the words for "large", meesta, and "rabbit", wâpos.

[10] The Arctic hare is well adapted to conditions found in the tundras, plateaus, and treeless coasts of this region, including cold weather and frozen precipitation.

[10][11] In Newfoundland and Southern Labrador, the Arctic hare changes its coat color, moulting and growing new fur, from brown or grey in the summer to white in the winter.

[15] Arctic hares predominantly consume saxifrage, crowberry, and dwarf willow, but can also eat a variety of other foods, including lichens and mosses, blooms, other species' leaves, twigs, and roots, mountain sorrel and macroalgae (seaweed).

Despite a 17% - 38% lower than expected basal metabolic rate, the Arctic hare is able to maintain a body temperature comparable to other lagomorphs (38.9 degrees C) because of its low surface area to volume ratio and high insulation.

[18][16][19] In addition, the Arctic hare has high locomotive efficiency combined with long periods of resting and shorter bouts of foraging which enables it to conserve energy and survive on its low diet intake.

[20] The white fur of Arctic hares, in addition to their camouflage benefits in the winter, have a high reflectance which may prevent excessive heat gain during the day.

[22] In this case, decreased precipitation and increased temperatures in the higher latitudes of Greenland result in a lower food plant availability to contribute to body mass.

[24] Young Arctic hares are almost full size by late July (some weeks after birth) and breed for the first time after a year of age.

[25] The snowy owls mainly target young hares; the French common name of the species derives from Anglo-Saxon harfang ("hare-catcher").