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speed up

A2 neutral both both
In simple words

to move or happen more quickly

Literal meaning: to increase speed upward

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

to move, happen, or be done more quickly

"The bus sped up as it left the town center."

Grammar: both
2 A2 neutral

to make a process or activity happen more quickly

"We need to speed up the hiring process before summer."

Grammar: both
Usage notes

Extremely common in daily speech for movement, work, processes, and technology. Both literal and figurative uses are frequent.

Commonly used with

process production car traffic recovery work

Forms

Base
speed up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
speeds up
he/she/it
Past simple
speeded up
yesterday
Past participle
speeded up
have + pp
-ing form
speeding up
continuous

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Synonyms

go faster make faster accelerate hurry quicken pick up

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