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quick definition

quick (kwik)

adjective

  1. Archaic living; alive
    1. rapid; swift a quick walk
    2. done with promptness; prompt a quick reply
    3. acting swiftly a quick worker
  3. lasting only a moment a quick look
  4. prompt to understand or learn a quick mind
  5. sensitive; acutely perceptive a quick sense of smell
  6. easily stirred; fiery a quick temper
  7. sharply curved a quick turn
  8. Archaic pregnant

Etymology: ME quik, lively, alive < OE cwicu, living: see bio-

adverb

quickly; rapidly

noun

  1. the living, esp. in the quick and the dead
  2. the sensitive flesh under a toenail or fingernail
  3. the deepest feelings or sensibilities cut to the quick by the insult

transitive verb

Archaic to animate; invigorate

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms quick idiom

medical quick definition - medical

quick Synonyms

quick

modif.

  1. Rapid

    fast, swift, expeditious, fleet; see agile, fast 1.

  2. Almost immediate

    posthaste, prompt, instantaneous; see immediate 1.

  3. Hasty

    impetuous, mercurial, quick-tempered; see rash.

  4. Alert

    ready, prompt, apt, sharp, keen, clever, smart, agile, nimble, lively, responsive, on the ball*; see also active 2, clever 1. See syn. study at agile, fast.

quick, in this comparison, implies ability to respond rapidly as an innate rather than a developed faculty a quick mind; prompt stresses immediate response to a demand as resulting from discipline, practice, etc. or from willingness prompt to obey, a prompt acceptance; ready also implies preparation or willingness and, in another sense, connotes fluency, expertness, etc. a ready sympathy, ready wit; apt, in this connection, implies superior intelligence or a special talent as the reason for quickness of response an apt pupil


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

quick Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • uptake: Quick on the uptake, he transferred the tube quest to Hamburg ( adapting the rules slightly in the process ).

Modifies a noun

  • succession: Jones was then forced to make three crucial saves in quick succession.

Modifying Another Word

  • pretty: Your right hand is pretty quick acting stuff there?

Preposition: off

  • mark: My initial comment was a little quick off the mark I'm afraid!

Infinitive complement

  • respond: It's very quick to respond and makes tuning a breeze.

Used with adjective complement

  • react: Smaller businesses react quicker to change and offer employees wider scope.
quick usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

quick quotes

For [the] quick in wit and light in manners be either seldom troubled or very soon weary, in carrying a very heavy purse.

-Ascham, Roger

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell;The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost;The holy Catholick Church;The Communion of Saints;The Forgiveness of sins;The Resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting. Amen.

-Book of Common Prayer

It doth repent me: words are quick and vain: Grief for a while is blind, and so was mine. I wish no living thing to suffer pain.

-Shelley, Percy Bysshe

quick quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"quick." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/quick>

APA Style

quick. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/quick

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