QUICK Definition & Meaning

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quick

[ kwik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

quicker, quickest.

done, proceeding, or occurring with promptness or rapidity, as an action, process, etc.; prompt; immediate:
a quick response.
Synonyms: ,
Antonyms:
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.
Synonyms: , , ,
keenly responsive; lively; acute:
a quick wit.
acting with swiftness or rapidity:
a quick worker.
Synonyms: , ,
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.
Antonyms:
(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.
1. endowed with life.
2. having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity.

noun

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.
1. a line of shrubs or plants, especially of hawthorn, forming a hedge.
2. a single shrub or plant in such a hedge.

adverb

quicker, quickest.

quickly.

quick

/ ��ɪ�� /

adjective

(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.
1. alive; living
2. as noun living people (esp in the phrase the quick and the dead )
archaic.
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

noun

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
cut someone to the quick
to hurt someone's feelings deeply; offend gravely

adverb

in a rapid or speedy manner; swiftly
soon
I hope he comes quick

interjection

a command requiring the hearer to perform an action immediately or in as short a time as possible

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Confusables 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 ). slow, sure.

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Derived Forms

ˈ��ܾ��, adverb
ˈ��ܾ��Ա��, noun

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��ܾ��n�� noun
�ܲ�·��ܾ�� adjective
�ܲ�·��ܾ��ly adverb
un·��ܾ��n�� noun

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of quick¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English quik “lively, moving, swift”; Old English cwic, cwicu “living”; cognate with Old Saxon quik, German queck, keck, Old Norse kvikr; akin to Latin ��ī��ܲ� “living” ( vital ), Sanskrit jivas “l��Բ�,” Greek ��í�ǲ� “life” ( bio- ), ��ḗ “animal life” ( zoo- )

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of quick¹

Old English cwicu living; related to Old Saxon quik, Old High German queck, Old Norse kvikr alive, Latin ��ī��ܲ� alive, Greek bios life

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Idioms and Phrases

cut to the quick, to injure deeply; hurt the feelings of:
Their callous treatment cut her to the quick.

More idioms and phrases containing quick

cut to the quick
(quick) on the uptake

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Synonym Study

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. See sharp.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

I swapped the jarred sauce for a quick stovetop version laced with fennel seed and torn basil.

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Mr Perks had a "95% chance of dying" when he was taken to hospital, and only survived because of "quick action and amazing surgical skill", the court heard.

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"The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse," he wrote.

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Yet it only got worse under Juric who has won just two of his 16 games, including a 3-0 win over Swansea in the FA Cup, with Southampton suffering the Premier League's quickest relegation.

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A quick scroll through your BBC Weather app highlights the likely change as a parade of sunshine symbols is replaced by occasional rainy ones.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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