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to speed

to speed

191 1.0
To make something move or happen faster
  • verb
  • /spiːd/
translation icon : acelerar
  • Isn't there any way we can speed this up?
  • speed the process
  • speed up development
  • speed economic growth

Slow down, you speed it up to three mph.

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Examples

  • In this article, we review new genomic technologies that will speed up the investigation of avian genome function.

    Academic text (2008)
  • "Is there nothing that can be done to speed up the process?" she asked.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Listen, it takes time to speed the train up.

  • Can we do anything to speed this up?

  • I think I can speed this up.

  • Can we speed it up?

  • Can we speed this up?

  • Goodell, we need to speed the game up.

  • Ergonomic and conflict improvements can reduce process variance, boost quality, and speed up field service and maintenance.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The teacher asked us to find ways to speed up the project workflow.

Synonyms

to hurry up
vsto speed
  • Informal
637 1.0

To move or act more quickly to avoid being late

is the general verb for causing movement or events to quicken
to move it
vsto speed
  • Informal
512 6.7

To hurry so you do something faster, often to avoid being late

is the neutral verb for causing a higher rate of movement
to rush
vsto speed
403 1.0

To make a person or thing move quickly

is the neutral term for making movement or events faster
to shoot
vsto speed
351 1.6

To move very quickly in one direction

denotes causing faster movement without implying suddenness
to accelerate
vsto speed
  • Specialized
331 3.7

To move faster or make something happen faster

is the general action word without technical emphasis
to speed up
vsto speed
161 2.5

To make something move or happen faster

is the basic verb for causing faster movement or events
to hurry
vsto speed
97 1.0

To make someone move or work faster than they want

is the more neutral act of making things move faster without pressure
to pick up the pace
vsto speed
23 4.0

To move or work faster

covers the same idea but as a general causative verb
to hasten
vsto speed
12 4.6

Make something happen sooner

focuses on accelerating things broadly rather than timing them
to quicken
vsto speed
12 4.1

To move or happen faster

is the basic action of causing things to move faster
to hit the accelerator
vsto speed
  • Informal
1 4.4

To try harder or work faster to reach a goal

describes the plain act of causing faster movement or events
to quicken the pace
vsto speed
1 3.9

Move or work faster to finish sooner

refers more generally to making movement or events faster

Antonyms

687 1.4

To move or act more slowly

10 5.5

To slow down

Idioms

full speed ahead
  • Informal
5 3.7

Go forward very quickly with strong effort

Phrasal Verbs

161 2.5

To make something move or happen faster

To learn the latest information about a project or task

To start moving faster

To skate fast in races on ice

Compounds

100 3.2

Able to work or move much faster than normal

60 1.0

The fastest speed cars are allowed to drive on a road

speed of light
  • Specialized
43 3.8

A constant speed at which light travels in empty space, about 300,000 kilometres per second

20 3.7

How fast a vehicle or person can move

light speed
  • Specialized
8 5.0

The speed that light travels in empty space

7 2.5

A raised strip across a road that makes cars slow down

Very fast movement that happens almost instantly

speed bump
  • Informal
5 3.2

A problem that slows progress in a project

5 3.8

A place on a road where police hide to catch drivers going too fast

A phrase used to say something happens very fast

A sport where people race on ice skates around an oval track to get the fastest time

3 3.0

A person who races fast on ice around an oval track

super-speed
  • Literature
3 8.0

Ability to move much faster than a normal person

speed freak
  • Offensive
2 9.6

A person who often uses drugs that make you more active, like amphetamines

speed demon
  • Informal
2 6.9

A person who drives very fast, often breaking speed limits

Reading text much faster than usual while still understanding it

1 7.6

A baseball throw slower than a fastball that fools the batter

A device that shows how fast a car or other vehicle is moving

execution speed
  • Specialized
1 4.9

How fast a computer or processor runs instructions

high-speed steel
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A very hard metal used for cutting tools that stays hard when hot

1 4.2

A police officer who patrols roads to catch drivers going too fast

relative speed
  • Specialized
4.1

How fast one object moves compared to another, for example two cars

speed merchant
  • Informal
7.0

A person who drives very fast, often in cars

speed frame
  • Specialized
8.5

A machine that pulls and slightly twists fibers to make a loose rope for spinning

An ice skate with a long straight blade for fast racing on ice

How Fast

to speed
191 1.0
to accelerate
  • Specialized
331 3.7
to expedite
  • Formal
45 6.5
to hasten
12 4.6

Surface Forms

speed infinitive
speeding present participle
speeds third person singular
sped past
sped past participle

Etymology

Speed can also mean 'to make something faster', from the same old root spēd. To speed a process or a vehicle is simply to cause it to happen or move more quickly.