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.
“Just do something, even if it’s minimal, above and beyond the minimum payment to try to eradicate that as quickly as possible,” he said.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
“We would like to resume the dividend as quickly as possible, but clearly, it’s a board decision,” Chief Executive Marc Bitzer told investors and analysts on an earnings call.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Squaring that circle, quickly, might be the most important task of the AI marketplace.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
It is the latest tech company this week to announce massive layoffs as tech workers embrace the use of AI agents to perform tasks such as generating code more quickly.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
“Yes, yes, take that to Mr. Lew,” Ma said quickly as I marched out of the room.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
