quickly
Americanadverb
Commonly Confused
See quick.
Etymology
Origin of quickly
Explanation
When you do something quickly, you do it really fast — like when you quickly eat breakfast so you won’t be late to school. The adverb quickly can describe any action that’s done at great speed. If you see a wolf running quickly, that means it’s moving rapidly and you’d better hide quickly. Quickly can also carry the sense of doing something without delay or hesitation. Sometimes quickly has a connotation of not putting much thought or effort into something, like when you quickly do your math homework.
Vocabulary lists containing quickly
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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.
But how did so many people mobilise so quickly and what role did social media play in the organisation?
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Nvidia could quickly scale up a cloud business, and Nvidia does have its own AI models, like Nemotron.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
If growth slows, valuation multiples could compress quickly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Baroness Casey said, one year on, the government had made "huge progress in many areas" but on the issue of quashing the convictions of child sexual exploitation victims, "they haven't gone far enough, quickly enough".
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
“We don’t have the money now,” I admit, glancing quickly at Theo to make sure I’m speaking correctly—I can’t imagine he would carry this kind of money on his person.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
