quickly
Americanadverb
Commonly Confused
See quick.
Etymology
Origin of quickly
Explanation
When you do something quickly, you do it really fast — like when you quickly eat breakfast so you won’t be late to school. The adverb quickly can describe any action that’s done at great speed. If you see a wolf running quickly, that means it’s moving rapidly and you’d better hide quickly. Quickly can also carry the sense of doing something without delay or hesitation. Sometimes quickly has a connotation of not putting much thought or effort into something, like when you quickly do your math homework.
Vocabulary lists containing quickly
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elbasan's council paid for its own stations in 2017, but they "quickly broke down, or were made to break down," Mehmeti said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Most of the migrants quickly left, but thousands stayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Four years ago, in the run-up to the last midterm elections, prices were rising more than twice as quickly as they are now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, one part of the table that doesn't settle quickly is the top spot.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
I quickly discovered that when I maneuvered our way toward the middle of the roll-call formation we had a little protection from the wind.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
