quick
done, proceeding, or occurring with promptness or rapidity, as an action, process, etc.; prompt; immediate: a quick response.
that is over or completed within a short interval of time: a quick shower.
moving, or able to move, with speed: a quick fox; a quick train.
swift or rapid, as motion: a quick flick of the wrist.
easily provoked or excited; hasty: a quick temper.
keenly responsive; lively; acute: a quick wit.
acting with swiftness or rapidity: a quick worker.
prompt or swift to do something: quick to respond.
prompt to perceive; sensitive: a quick eye.
prompt to understand, learn, etc.; of ready intelligence: a quick student.
(of a bend or curve) sharp: a quick bend in the road.
consisting of living plants: a quick pot of flowers.
brisk, as fire, flames, heat, etc.
Archaic.
endowed with life.
having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity.
living persons: the quick and the dead.
the tender, sensitive flesh of the living body, especially that under the nails: nails bitten down to the quick.
the vital or most important part.
Chiefly British.
a line of shrubs or plants, especially of hawthorn, forming a hedge.
a single shrub or plant in such a hedge.
Idioms about quick
cut to the quick, to injure deeply; hurt the feelings of: Their callous treatment cut her to the quick.
Origin of quick
1synonym study For quick
confusables note For quick
Other words for quick
Opposites for quick
Other words from quick
- quickness, noun
- un·quick, adjective
- un·quick·ly, adverb
- un·quick·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use quick in a sentence
“I thought I could progress in a much quicker pace and in much more meaningful ways if I was here,” she explained.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau | Ian Frisch | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLuckily things have fallen into place quicker than if I wasn't involved.
The quicker the finished product gets into the hardening cabinet, the smaller the ice crystals.
But while the show has gotten quicker, thank goodness, it still sows its stories stealthily.
America, Presenting Your New Addiction: ‘The Archers’ | Tim Teeman | April 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe told me to take the back roads because they were quicker.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town | E. Jean Carroll | April 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Each seems satisfied with the way his own branch is getting on: Winter is the quicker worker.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonThe quicker the climax came, the sooner would he know the marvellous joy that lay beyond the pain.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodIn fact, nothing occurred to him—he realised nothing—except that he meant to escape—and the quicker the better.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon BlackwoodRose made no reply, but played a little quicker, as though the sound had roused her from some painful thoughts.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3) | Charles DickensSomething in his voice, a sad pitying tenderness, caused her heart to beat a shade quicker.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
British Dictionary definitions for quick
/ (kwɪk) /
(of an action, movement, etc) performed or occurring during a comparatively short time: a quick move
lasting a comparatively short time; brief: a quick flight
accomplishing something in a time that is shorter than normal: a quick worker
characterized by rapidity of movement; swift or fast: a quick walker
immediate or prompt: a quick reply
(postpositive) eager or ready to perform (an action): quick to criticize
responsive to stimulation; perceptive or alert; lively: a quick eye
eager or enthusiastic for learning: a quick intelligence
easily excited or aroused: a quick temper
skilfully swift or nimble in one's movements or actions; deft: quick fingers
archaic
alive; living
(as noun) living people (esp in the phrase the quick and the dead)
archaic, or dialect lively or eager: a quick dog
(of a fire) burning briskly
composed of living plants: a quick hedge
dialect (of sand) lacking firmness through being wet
quick with child archaic pregnant, esp being in an advanced state of pregnancy, when the movements of the fetus can be felt
any area of living flesh that is highly sensitive to pain or touch, esp that under a toenail or fingernail or around a healing wound
the vital or most important part (of a thing)
short for quickset (def. 1)
cut someone to the quick to hurt someone's feelings deeply; offend gravely
in a rapid or speedy manner; swiftly
soon: I hope he comes quick
a command requiring the hearer to perform an action immediately or in as short a time as possible
Origin of quick
1Derived forms of quick
- quickly, adverb
- quickness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with quick
In addition to the idioms beginning with quick
- quick and the dead
- quick as a wink
- quick off the mark
- quick one, a
- quick on the draw
- quick on the uptake
also see:
- cut to the quick
- (quick) on the uptake
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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