rapid
[rap-id]
- occurring within a short time; happening speedily: rapid growth.
- moving or acting with great speed; swift: a rapid worker.
- characterized by speed: rapid motion.
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- Usually rapids. a part of a river where the current runs very swiftly.
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Origin of rapid
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rapid on Thesaurus.com2. See quick.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rapid
Contemporary Examples
The rapid rise of the sharing economy is changing the way people around the world commute, shop, vacation, and borrow.
Why Do ‘Progressives’ Want to Ban Uber and AirBnB?Adam Thierer, Christopher Koopman
December 30, 2014
He experienced a rapid rise, only beginning to play cricket competitively at age 11.
In some ways, the rapid spread of the virus there should not be surprising.
The loss of whitebark and the rapid increase in human-killed grizzlies are synchronous.
The country was building houses at a rapid clip, which required a large amount of immigrant labor.
Historical Examples
A rapid walk soon restored the maidens to their own peaceful homes.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
They were on the bank of a stream of some width, and apparently a deep and rapid one.
Harriet, The Moses of Her PeopleSarah H. Bradford
We regret that his tours are so rapid, and his journals so brief.
She heard him speaking in a voice not louder than a whisper, rapid, distinct.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
The way was open; the access was free; the progress as rapid as thought could make it.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
rapid
- (of an action or movement) performed or occurring during a short interval of time; quicka rapid transformation
- characterized by high speedrapid movement
- acting or moving quickly; fasta rapid worker
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See also rapids
Word Origin
C17: from Latin rapidus tearing away, from rapere to seize; see rape 1
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
Word Origin and History for rapid
adj.
1630s, "moving quickly," from French rapide (17c.) and directly from Latin rapidus "hasty, swift, rapid; snatching; fierce, impetuous," from rapere "hurry away, carry off, seize, plunder," from PIE root *rep- "to snatch" (cf. Greek ereptomai "devour," harpazein "snatch away," Lithuanian raples "tongs"). Meaning "happening in a short time" is from 1780. Related: Rapidly; rapidness. Rapid-transit first attested 1852, in reference to street railways; rapid eye movement is from 1906.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper