# expedite

/ˈɛkspɪˌdaɪt/ (US) · /ˈɛkspədˌaɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/expedite
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to speed up a process

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to make a process or action happen more quickly.

For teachers: to accelerate the progress of a process or action; to facilitate rapid completion.

- You can pay an extra fee to expedite your passport application.
- The department head promised to expedite the review process to ensure the project could begin before the end of the fiscal year.

Usage: This is a transitive verb and requires a direct object, usually a process, task, or request.

### 2. to handle efficiently

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal · Academic

to do a task quickly and well.

For teachers: to execute or dispatch a task with speed and efficiency.

- The new software helped the team expedite their daily reports.
- The logistics manager was hired specifically to expedite the distribution of goods across the northern territories.

Teaching tip: While 'speed up' is common in speech, 'expedite' is the preferred term in professional and legal correspondence.

## Examples

- We can pay extra to expedite the shipping.
- The manager promised to expedite the hiring process to ensure the new team was ready before the peak season.
- By digitising the archival records, the library hoped to expedite the research phase for historians who previously spent weeks manually sorting through physical documents.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.