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quick

 - 8 dictionary results

quick

  [kwik] adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb, -er, -est.
Use quick in a Sentence
–adjective
1. done, proceeding, or occurring with promptness or rapidity, as an action, process, etc.; prompt; immediate: a quick response.
2. that is over or completed within a short interval of time: a quick shower.
3. moving, or able to move, with speed: a quick fox; a quick train.
4. swift or rapid, as motion: a quick flick of the wrist.
5. easily provoked or excited; hasty: a quick temper.
6. keenly responsive; lively; acute: a quick wit.
7. acting with swiftness or rapidity: a quick worker.
8. prompt or swift to do something: quick to respond.
9. prompt to perceive; sensitive: a quick eye.
10. prompt to understand, learn, etc.; of ready intelligence: a quick student.
11. (of a bend or curve) sharp: a quick bend in the road.
12. consisting of living plants: a quick pot of flowers.
13. brisk, as fire, flames, heat, etc.
14. Archaic.
a. endowed with life.
b. having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity.
–noun
15. living persons: the quick and the dead.
16. the tender, sensitive flesh of the living body, esp. that under the nails: nails bitten down to the quick.
17. the vital or most important part.
18. Chiefly British.
a. a line of shrubs or plants, esp. of hawthorn, forming a hedge.
b. a single shrub or plant in such a hedge.
–adverb
19. quickly.
—Idiom
20. cut to the quick, to injure deeply; hurt the feelings of: Their callous treatment cut her to the quick.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME quik lively, moving, swift; OE cwic, cwicu living; c. OS quik, G queck, keck, ON kvikr; akin to L vīvus living (see vital ), Skt jivas living, Gk bíos life (see bio- ), zo animal life (see zoo- )

Related forms:
quickness, noun

Synonyms:
1. fleet, expeditious. Quick, fast, swift, rapid describe speedy tempo. Quick applies particularly to something practically instantaneous, an action or reaction, perhaps, of very brief duration: to give a quick look around; to take a quick walk. Fast and swift refer to actions, movements, etc., that continue for a time, and usually to those that are uninterrupted; when used of communication, transportation, and the like, they suggest a definite goal and a continuous trip. Swift, the more formal word, suggests the greater speed: a fast train; a swift message. Rapid, less speedy than the others, applies to a rate of movement or action, and usually to a series of actions or movements, related or unrelated: rapid calculation; a rapid walker. 5. abrupt, curt, short, precipitate. 7. nimble, agile, brisk. 10. See sharp.

Antonyms:
1, 10. slow.

Usage note:
The difference between the adverbial forms quick and quickly is frequently stylistic. Quick is more often used in short spoken sentences, especially imperative ones: Come quick! The chimney is on fire. Quickly is the usual form in writing, both in the preverb position (We quickly realized that attempts to negotiate would be futile) and following verbs other than imperatives (She turned quickly and left). See also slow, sure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To quick
quick   (kwĭk)   
adj.   quick·er, quick·est

  1. Moving or functioning rapidly and energetically; speedy.

  2. Learning, thinking, or understanding with speed and dexterity; bright: a quick mind.

    1. Perceiving or responding with speed and sensitivity; keen.

    2. Reacting immediately and sharply: a quick temper.

    3. Occurring, achieved, or acquired in a relatively brief period of time: a quick rise through the ranks; a quick profit.

    4. Done or occurring immediately: a quick inspection. See Synonyms at fast1.

    5. Alive.

    6. Pregnant.

    1. Occurring, achieved, or acquired in a relatively brief period of time: a quick rise through the ranks; a quick profit.

    2. Done or occurring immediately: a quick inspection. See Synonyms at fast1.

    3. Alive.

    4. Pregnant.

  5. Tending to react hastily: quick to find fault.

  6. Archaic

    1. Alive.

    2. Pregnant.

n.  

  1. Sensitive or raw exposed flesh, as under the fingernails.

  2. The most personal and sensitive aspect of the emotions.

  3. The living: the quick and the dead.

  4. The vital core; the essence: got to the quick of the matter.

adv.   quicker, quickest
Quickly; promptly.

[Middle English, alive, lively, quick, from Old English cwicu, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots.]
quick'ly adv., quick'ness n.
Usage Note: In speech quick is commonly used as an adverb in phrases such as Come quick. In formal writing, however, quickly is required.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

quick 
O.E. cwic "living, alive," from P.Gmc. *kwikwaz (cf. O.Fris. quik, O.N. kvikr "living, alive," O.H.G. quec "lively," Ger. keck "bold"), from PIE base *gwiwo- "to live" (see bio-). Sense of "lively, swift" developed by c.1300, on notion of "full of life."
"NE swift or the now more common fast may apply to rapid motion of any duration, while in quick (in accordance with its original sense of 'live, lively') there is a notion of 'sudden' or 'soon over.' We speak of a fast horse or runner in a race, a quick starter but not a quick horse. A somewhat similar feeling may distinguish NHG schnell and rasch or it may be more a matter of local preference." [Buck]
Quickie "sex act done hastily" is from 1940. Quicklime (c.1400) is loan-translation of L. calx viva.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1quick
Pronunciation: 'kwik
Function: adjective
1 : not dead : LIVING, ALIVE
2 : PREGNANT

Main Entry: 2quick
Function: noun
1 quick pl : living beings
2 : a painfully sensitive spot or area of flesh (asthat underlying a fingernail or toenail)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

quick (kwĭk)
n.
Sensitive or raw exposed flesh, as under the fingernails. adj. quick·er, quick·est

  1. Pregnant.

  2. Alive.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

QUICK language
An early system on the IBM 701.
[Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)].
(1995-05-11)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

quick

In addition to the idioms beginning with quick, also see cut to the quick; (quick) on the uptake.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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