English Reference
adjective · verb

speedy

adj. · v.
US /ˈspiˌdi/ UK /spˈiːdi/ speedy

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    adj.happening or moving very quickly.

    adj.characterised by rapid motion or high speed; occurring without delay.

    Simple

    The company promised a speedy delivery, and the package arrived the next morning.

    In context

    The patient made a remarkably speedy recovery following the surgery, returning to light exercise within just a few days.

  2. 02 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.

    Simple

    The manager decided to speedy the application so the new employee could start on Monday.

    In context

    The department was asked to speedy the approval process to ensure the project met the end-of-quarter deadline.

    expediteacceleratefast track
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency TechnicalSlang Computing

    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.

    Simple

    The moderator had to speedy the page because it contained spam.

    In context

    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'.


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.

This entry
Origin gem-pro *spōdigaz
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated