speed-up

[ speed-uhp ]

noun

1. an increasing of speed.
2. an imposed increase in the rate of production of a worker without a corresponding increase in the rate of pay.

speed up

verb

1. to increase or cause to increase in speed or rate; accelerate

noun

1. an instance of this; acceleration

Usage

The past tense and past participle of speed up is speeded up , not sped up

Word History and Origins

Origin of speed-up¹

First recorded in 1920–25; noun use of verb phrase speed up

Idioms and Phrases

Accelerate, expedite, increase the rate, as in The car speeded up as it went downhill , or It's difficult to speed up production without new equipment . [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Bob Pittman, chief executive of the San Antonio-based media giant, said the terminations were part of the company’s “modernization journey” and boasted about using technology to “speed up processes and streamline legacy systems” during a third-quarter earnings call last week, according to Billboard.

From Los Angeles Times

The airing of the TV drama into the Post Office scandal "brought the urgency" to speed up compensation pay outs for sub-postmasters, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said.

From BBC

Prior to the election, Bluestein told Salon that he hoped the addition of new ballot-counting machines would speed up the time it takes Philadelphia to count votes and possibly stop claims of fraud from spreading.

From Salon

By cutting out the need to constantly refresh the website, it will reduce the load on the ticketing system and may even speed up the process for users.

From BBC

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said ministers were committed to "significant reforms" of the planning system to speed up new connections.

From BBC

Related Words

• abate
• allay
• ameliorate
• calm
• expedite
• facilitate
• further
• improve
• lessen
• lift
• mitigate
• moderate
• promote
• relax
• relieve
• simplify
• soften
• soothe
• speed