speedwriting

American

[speed-rahy-ting] / ˈspidˌraɪ tɪŋ /

noun

a system of shorthand that is based on the sound of words and utilizes letters of the alphabet rather than symbols.

Speedwriting British

/ ˈspiːdˌraɪtɪŋ /

noun

a form of shorthand in which alphabetic combinations are used to represent groups of sounds or short common words

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of speedwriting

1920–25; speed + writing; formerly a trademark

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.

In the 1920s Emma Dearborn, an instructor at Colombia University, started Speedwriting, allowing more than 20,000 different words to be written once the user has learned 60 rules and a list of about 100 brief forms.

From BBC

I didn't know I had dyslexia, and I failed my typing and speedwriting test, so I was reduced to correcting computers' mistakes with a Biro.

From The Guardian

After studying English at Sarah Lawrence, she flirted with acting, then took a speedwriting course and went to work as a secretary at NBC.

From Time Magazine Archive

The elder Rowe soon found this too hazardous a business, so he invented a speedwriting system called Rowe Vowel Shorthand and opened a business school in Michigan.

From Time Magazine Archive

When his speedwriting turned out to lack speed, Walsh kept him on anyway, put him to work keeping track of legislative matters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023