Wiktionary

speed up

See also: speed-up and speedup

English

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /spiːdˈʌp/
  • Audio (Australia):(file)

Verb

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speed up (third-person singular simple present speeds up, present participle speeding up, simple past and past participle speeded up or sped up)

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To accelerate; to increase speed.
    Synonym: pick up speed
    Antonyms: hold up, let up, slow, slow down, slow up
    Coordinate terms: hurry, rush
    The car sped up as it went around the corner.
  2. (transitive) To accelerate (something): to increase its speed, to make it go faster.
    Synonym: smarten
    Antonyms: hold up, slow, slow down
    Coordinate terms: hurry, rush
    You shouldn't speed up your car when you go around corners.
    • 1957 June, “Notes and News: B.R. Summer Passenger Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 433:
      More fast trains between England and Scotland, and additional "car-sleeper" overnight services for motorists, are important features of British Railways summer timetables, which come into operation on June 17. In all, 98 long-distance trains will be speeded-up to save 10-75 min. and many will make non-stop runs at an average speed of 60 m.p.h. or more.
    • 1960 February, “The dieselised St. Pancras suburban service”, in Trains Illustrated, page 95:
      The through Moorgate service has been most handsomely speeded up, and suburban trains in both directions now run non-stop between Kings Cross (Underground) and Elstree.
    • 1964 September, “Motive Power Miscellany: BR Workshops”, in Modern Railways, page 220:
      Work on anti-frost precautions on diesel locomotives is to be speeded up to ensure that most if not all locomotives have been dealt with before the winter sets in.
    • 2026 February 18, David Stubbings, “ORR steps in to improve industry response to overspeed incidents”, in RAIL, number 1055, page 9:
      HM Chief Inspector of Railways has stepped in to speed up work to resolve incidents of overspeeding, having been concerned that progress on the issue has been too slow.

Derived terms

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Translations

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