haste

[heyst]

noun

1. swiftness of motion; speed; celerity.

   He performed his task with great haste. They felt the need for haste.

   Antonyms: sloth

2. urgent need of quick action; a hurry or rush.

   to be in haste to get ahead in the world.

   Synonyms: urgency, ado, bustle, flurry

3. unnecessarily quick action; thoughtless, rash, or undue speed.

   Haste makes waste.

   Synonyms: precipitation, precipitancy

verb (used with or without object)

hasted, hasting 

1. Archaic.,  to hasten.

haste

/ heɪst /

noun

1. speed, esp in an action; swiftness; rapidity

2. the act of hurrying in a careless or rash manner

3. a necessity for hurrying; urgency

4. to hurry; rush

verb

1. a poetic word for hasten

Other Word Forms

• hasteful adjective
• hastefully adverb
• hasteless adjective
• hastelessness noun
• unhasted adjective
• unhasting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of haste¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French from Germanic; akin to Old Frisian hāste, Old English hæst “violence,” Old Norse heifst “hatred,” Gothic haifsts “quarrel”

Word History and Origins

Origin of haste¹

C14: from Old French haste, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse heifst hate, Old English hǣst strife, Old High German heisti powerful

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make haste, to act or go with speed; hurry.

   She made haste to tell the president the good news.

More idioms and phrases containing haste

• make haste

Synonym Study

See speed.

Example Sentences

In their haste, they dropped several pieces of jewelry on the gallery floor, police said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For 25 years, Britain was the colonial power in the area known as Palestine in World War One, departing in haste in 1948 as the State of Israel was created.

Read more on BBC

Investigators found a damaged crown that used to belong to Empress Eugenie on the thieves' escape route - apparently having been dropped as they departed in haste.

Read more on BBC

Shortly before his diagnosis with lung cancer, he signed off one letter “In sickness and in haste.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

All around, a sad display of more haste than good judgment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alacrity 
• urgency 

When To Use

What does haste mean?

Haste most commonly refers to urgency, such as in completing a task.It can also be used as another word for speed or swiftness, as in We have to move with haste if we want to make it on time. The phrase make haste means to move quickly, hurry up, or rush.Often, haste means urgency or speed that is careless or reckless. This is how the word is used in the expression haste makes waste, which means that rushing things leads to mistakes.The adjective form hasty is most often used in this sense—a hasty decision is one that is thought to have been made too quickly, perhaps leading to negative consequences. The adverb form is hastily.The verb hasten means to go faster or cause to go faster, as in We need to hasten our efforts.Example: In my haste to finish the project, I forgot to put my name on it.