Definitions
01fast or quick
B1 · Intermediate
adj. happening or moving very quickly.
adj. characterised by rapid motion or high speed; occurring without delay.
“The company promised a speedy delivery, and the package arrived the next morning.”
“The patient made a remarkably speedy recovery following the surgery, returning to light exercise within just a few days.”
02to accelerate a process
C1 · Advanced Technical
v. to make a process happen faster than usual.
v. to process something in an accelerated or faster-than-normal manner. Transitive use, often found in administrative or technical contexts.
“The manager decided to speedy the application so the new employee could start on Monday.”
“The department was asked to speedy the approval process to ensure the project met the end-of-quarter deadline.”
Synonyms
03to delete quickly
C2 · Proficiency Computing Technical · Slang
v. to delete something immediately, usually on a website or wiki.
v. to apply a rule for immediate deletion in an online community or database management system.
“The moderator had to speedy the page because it contained spam.”
“Administrators are authorised to speedy articles that clearly violate the platform's core content policies without a full community discussion.”
Usage
Often used in the phrase 'to speedy delete'.
Etymology
From Middle English spedy, spedi, from Old English spēdiġ (“having good speed, lucky, prosperous; having means, wealthy, opulent, rich in material wealth; rich in, abounding in, abundant, plenteous, copious; powerful”), from Proto-Germanic *spōdigaz (“successful, hurried”), equivalent to speed + -y. Cognate with Scots speedy (“speedy”), Dutch spoedig (“speedy, swift, rapid, quick”), German sputig, spudig (“industrious, speedy”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Related words
Idioms
01. Speedy Gonzales
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B1 · Intermediate
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/speedy
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0