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ASAP

adv. time
B1 Intermediate US //ˈeɪˈɛˈseɪˈpi// UK //ˌeɪˌɛsˌeɪpˈiː// as·ap

adv. Stands for as soon as possible. You use this when you need something to happen very quickly or without any delay.

adv. Abbreviation for as soon as possible. Frequently used in professional and casual correspondence to indicate urgency.


SIMPLE

Please call me back ASAP.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager requested that the sales reports be submitted ASAP so the team could prepare for the meeting.

COMPLEX

While the client requested the revisions ASAP, the design team insisted on a forty-eight-hour window to ensure the quality of the final renders remained high.

Origin

From the 1950s. First known use in a book of Captain Annis G Thompson, who was involved in the Korean War, The Greatest Airlift (1954). Originally used in the meaning "as soon as militarily possible" by military forces.

Usage

Often pronounced as individual letters (A-S-A-P) or as a single word ('ay-sap'). In formal writing, it is usually better to write the full phrase 'as soon as possible'.

Pitfall

I need it very ASAPI need it ASAPASAP is an absolute time reference and cannot be modified by degree adverbs like 'very'.

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