rapidly
Americanadverb
-
within a short period of time.
There are thousands of languages spoken in the world today, but many of them are rapidly approaching obsolescence and extinction.
-
with great speed; swiftly.
Bats are more likely than birds to detect rapidly spinning turbine blades and avoid flying into them.
Other Word Forms
- ultrarapidly adverb
Etymology
Origin of rapidly
Explanation
When you do something rapidly, you do it very quickly. A rapidly moving train is going at full speed. You may notice that the grass in your yard grows rapidly during the rainy summer days and more slowly when there's a heat wave. You might also get a speeding ticket for driving too rapidly in a school zone. In either case, something's happening fast. The adverb rapidly comes from the adjective rapid, "moving quickly," with the Latin root rapidus, "hasty, swift, fierce, or impetuous."
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.
His company grew rapidly, lifted by an economic boom in China that was driven by heavy borrowing.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
The American population is rapidly aging, with baby boomers hitting 65 in record numbers, which is just at the cusp of when people start to take estate planning seriously.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
The installation of charging stations in the region is also growing rapidly.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The artificial intelligence gold rush is rapidly drying up the supply of the one resource that AI developers can’t do without: computing power.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
To help the boy overcome these self-defeating tendencies, Collins ordered a clock from Germany with a special ten-second timer, and he insisted that Bobby play with it to practice thinking and moving more rapidly.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
