Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):
   • To cause something to move, operate, or proceed at a faster rate; to increase the speed of something.
2. Verb (Intransitive):
   • To begin moving, operating, or proceeding at a faster rate; to become faster.

Usage

• As a transitive verb, "speed up" takes a direct object (the thing being made faster).
• As an intransitive verb, it does not take a direct object (the subject itself becomes faster).
• It is a separable phrasal verb. The object can often come between "speed" and "up," especially if it is a pronoun (e.g., "speed it up").

Examples

• Transitive Verb:
  • The new software will speed up the data processing.
  • Can you speed up the car? We're running late.
  • The manager asked the team to speed up the project timeline.
• Intransitive Verb:
  • The car began to speed up as it entered the highway.
  • Production has sped up since we installed the new machines.
  • His heart rate sped up when he heard the news.

Advanced Usage

• "to speed things up": A common phrase meaning to make a process or situation progress more quickly.
  • Let's skip the formalities to speed things up.
• Used in technical contexts (physics, computing, engineering) to describe an increase in velocity or processing rate.
  • The particle speeds up as it approaches the center of the field.

Variants and Related Words

• Speed-up (noun): An instance or process of increasing speed.
  • We noticed a significant speed-up in download times.
• Accelerate (verb): A more formal synonym, often used in technical or scientific contexts.
• Quicken (verb): To make or become quicker, often used for processes or pulses.
• Expedite (verb, transitive): To make a process happen more quickly, often used in administrative or business contexts.

Synonyms

• Transitive: Accelerate, hasten, quicken, expedite.
• Intransitive: Accelerate, hasten, quicken, pick up speed.

Antonyms

• Transitive: Slow down, decelerate, delay, hinder.
• Intransitive: Slow down, decelerate, lag.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Slow down: The direct opposite; to reduce speed.
  • Please slow down when you approach the intersection.
• Pick up: Can mean to increase in speed, among other meanings.
  • The wind is starting to pick up.

Idioms

• "Put the pedal to the metal": An informal idiom meaning to drive very fast or to speed up an effort dramatically.
  • If we want to finish on time, we'll have to put the pedal to the metal.
• "Step on it": An informal command meaning to hurry up or drive faster.
  • We need to get to the hospital—step on it!

Verb

1. cause to move faster
   • He accelerated the car
2. move faster
   • The car accelerated