Speed up meaning
Speed up means to go or happen faster, or make something go or happen faster.
speed something up
speed up · sped · speeding
The train sped up after it left the city.
Speed up meanings and examples
One meaning, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Go or happen faster, or make something go or happen faster
speed something up
- The train sped up after it left the city.
- Can we speed up the meeting? I have a flight at four.
- The queue was slow, so they opened another till to speed it up.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use speed up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is speed up separable?
Speed up can have no object: The car sped up. With an object, it is separable: speed up the process, speed the process up, speed it up.
The past is sped up or speeded up. Both are correct; sped up is more common in everyday speech.
Verb tenses for speed up
| Present | I speed up · she speeds up |
|---|---|
| Past | sped up |
| Present perfect | have sped up |
| -ing form | speeding up |
Common mistakes with speed up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: This app is slow. How can I speed up it?
Right: This app is slow. How can I speed it up?
A pronoun goes between speed and up.
Wrong: The bus speeded up faster.
Right: The bus sped up.
Speed up already means go faster, so faster is not needed.
Wrong: Can you speed up to finish the report?
Right: Can you hurry up and finish the report?
To ask a person to do something quickly, hurry up is more natural.
Synonyms and opposites of speed up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- accelerateformal or technical; a car or process goes faster
- hurry updo something more quickly; used for people
- pick up speedstart to move faster little by little
Speed up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The song starts slowly and then ___.
Speed up means become faster.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The pronoun goes between speed and up.
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3Your visa is taking months. You ask the office, “Can you speed it up?” What do you want?
Speed up a process means make it happen faster.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- put upB1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- come upB2be mentioned or talked about
- give upB1stop doing or having something, often a habit
- break upB1end a romantic relationship
Speed up FAQ
Questions people ask about speed up.
Is it sped up or speeded up?
Both are correct. Sped up is more common when you talk: The car sped up. Speeded up is also fine, especially in UK writing.
Speed up vs hurry up: what is the difference?
Hurry up is said to people: Hurry up, we’re late! Speed up can be for people, machines or processes: speed up the computer.
What does a sped-up song mean?
A sped-up song is played faster than the original, so it sounds higher and quicker. Sped-up songs are popular on social media.
Use speed up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.