Definition of "quicken"

Senses relating to life or states of activity.

1. (transitive)

   1. To put (someone or something) in a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to excite, to rouse.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • […] Italy had quickened Cecil, not to tolerance, but to irritation. He saw that the local society was narrow, but, instead of saying, "Does this very much matter?" he rebelled, and tried to substitute for it the society he called broad.

        1908, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “Cecil as a Humourist”, in A Room with a View, London: Edward Arnold, part II, page 170

   2. To inspire or stimulate (an action, a feeling, etc.).  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • For ſurely, a rich Land, guardleſs and undefended, muſt needs have been a double Incitement, and ſuch an one, as might not only admit, but even invite the Enemy. It was like a fruitful Garden, or a fair Vineyard without an Hedge, that quickens the Appetite to enjoy ſo tempting, and withal ſo eaſy a Prize.

        1667; first published 1692, Robert South, “A Sermon Preached at the Consecration of a Chapel”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volume I, London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, pages 289–290

      • This quicken'd my Reſolution to reſtore her Money, and not only ſo, but I reſolv'd I would give her ſomething over and above her Loſs; […]

        1723, [Daniel Defoe], The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Col. Jacque, Commonly Call’d Col. Jack, […], 2nd edition, London: […] J. Brotherton, […], page 106

      • Strange! how the frequent interjected daſh,Quickens a market and helps off the traſh,Th' important letters that include the reſt,Serve as a key to thoſe that are ſuppreſs'd,Conjecture gripes the victims in his paw,The world is charm'd, and Scrib. eſcapes the law.The author alludes to how the use of dashes to conceal the names of real persons in a satire (for example, “W⸻m C⸻r”) encourages the sale of the work, while allowing the satirist to avoid being sued for libel.

        1782, William Cowper, “Charity”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], page 206

   3. To stimulate or assist the fermentation of (an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.).  examples

   4. (literary, also figuratively) To give life to (someone or something never alive or once dead); to animate, to resurrect, to revive.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • Whoſoever will goo about to ſave his lyfe⸝ shall looſe it: And whoſoever ſhall looſe his life⸝ ſhall quycken it.

        1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], The Gospell off S. Luke xvij:, folio cv, verso

      • I haue ſeen a medicineThat's able to breath life into a ſtone,Quicken a rocke, […]

        c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene i], page 235, column 2

      • the Miſtris which I ſerue, quickens what's dead,And makes my labours, pleaſures: […]

        1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene i], page 10, column 2

      • The egg, when laid, by warmth is made a chicken,And Christ by grace the dead in sin does quicken.The spelling has been modernized.

        1686, John Bunyan, “[Divine Emblems; or, Temporal Things Spiritualized: Fitted for the Use of Boys and Girls] Meditations upon an Egg”, in Henry Stebbing, editor, The Entire Works of John Bunyan, […], volume IV, London: James S[prent] Virtue, […], published 1863, page 447, column 1

      • still the freſh Spring findsNew plants to quicken, and new groves to green.

        1730, James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, page 138, lines 662–663

      • upon EarthAll good shall droop and sicken, and ill thingsShall with a spirit of unnatural lifeStir and be quickened … even as I am now.

        1819, Percy B[ysshe] Shelley, The Cenci: A Tragedy, […], [Livorno], Italy: […] [Percy B. Shelley] for C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier […], Act IV, scene i, page 64

   5. (archaic) To make or help (something) to burn.  quotations

      Quotations

      • […] sheQuickened the fire and laid the board, […]

        1870, William Morris, “December: The Fostering of Aslaug”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, part IV, London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], page 75

      • Was it alight once? Still lives spark enoughFor breath to quicken, run the smouldering ashRed right through.

        1887, Robert Browning, “With Charles Avison”, in Parleyings with Certain People of Importance in Their Day: […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], page 210

   6. (obsolete)

      1. To make (a drug, liquor, etc.) more effective or stimulating.  quotations  examples

         Quotations

         • Coole Violets, and Orpine growing ſtill,Embathed Balme, and chearfull Galingale,Freſh Coſtmarie, and breathfull Camomill,Poppie, and drink-quickning Setuale, […]

           1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Muiopotmos, or The Fate of the Butterflie”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […]

         • It were good alſo to Enforce the Spirits by ſome Mixtures, that may excite and quicken them.

           1631, Francis [Bacon], “IV. Century. [Experiments in Consort Touching Maturation, and the Accelerating thereof. And First Touching the Maturation and Quickning of Drinks. And Next Touching the Maturation of Fruits..]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], paragraph 314, page 82

      2. (passive voice) Of a pregnant woman: to be in the state of reaching the stage of pregnancy at which the movements of the foetus are first felt.  quotations  examples

         Quotations

         • Venus, for Hero was her prieſt, and Iuno Lucina the midwifes goddeſſe, for ſhe was now quickned, and caſt away by the cruelty of Æolus, tooke bread and ſalt and eate it, that they would bee ſmartlie reuenged on that truculent windy iailour, and they forgot it not, for Venus made his ſonne and his daughter to committe inceſt together.

           1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], page 46

2. (intransitive)

   1. To take on a state of activity or vigour comparable to life; to be excited or roused.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • Born with her life, creature of poignant thirstAnd exquisite hunger, at her heart Love layQuickening in darkness, till a voice that dayCried on him, and the bonds of birth were burst.

        1870, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “[Sonnets and Songs, towards a Work to be Called ‘The House of Life.’ Sonnets.] The House of Life. Sonnet I. Bridal Birth.”, in Poems, London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], stanza 1, page 189

      • The Chaplain's interest in the story visibly quickened.

        1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Lost Sanjak”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], page 15

      • The milch-goat looked up from her supper of waste paper; her perennial optimism quickened within her, and swelled to a great and mature confidence; […]

        1938 May, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 4, in Scoop: A Novel about Journalists, uniform edition, London: Chapman & Hall, published 1948 (1951 printing), book II (Stones £20), page 164

   2. To grow bright; to brighten.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • The fair each moment riſes in her charms,Repairs her ſmiles, awakens ev'ry grace,And calls forth all the wonders of her face;Sees by degrees a purer bluſh ariſe,And keener lightnings quicken in her eyes.

        1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, canto I, page 128

      • She found no rest, and ever fail'd to drawThe quiet night into her blood, but layContemplating her own unworthiness;And when the pale and bloodless east beganTo quicken to the sun, arose, […]

        1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], page 29

      • Meanwhile the light quickened, and gradually disclosed the form and outline of the adjacent domain.

        1885, Bret Harte, chapter I, in Maruja, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], page 6

   3. Of an alcoholic beverage, dough, etc.: to ferment.  examples

   4. (also figuratively) Of a pregnant woman: to first feel the movements of the foetus, or reach the stage of pregnancy at which this takes place; of a foetus: to begin to move.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • […] about a month ago she [Lady Castlemaine] quickened at my Lord Gerard's at dinner, and cried out that she was undone; and all the lords and men were fain to quit the room, and women called to help her.

        1663 January 11 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “January 1st, 1662–1663”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume III, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893, page 1

      • Almighty Vigour ſtrove though all the Void,And ſuch prolifick Influence employ'd,That ancient, barren Night did pregnant grow,And quicken'd with the World in Embrio.

        1695, Richard Blackmore, “Book II”, in Prince Arthur. An Heroick Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Awnsham and John Churchil […], pages 35–36

      • Royal pregnancies were not announced in those days; the news generally crept out, and public anticipation was aroused only when the child quickened.

        2013 February 21, Hilary Mantel, “Royal Bodies”, in Mary-Kay Wilmers, editor, London Review of Books‎, volume 35, number 4, London: LRB Ltd., archived from the original on 27 December 2021

   5. (literary, also figuratively)

      1. To give life; to make alive.  examples

      2. To come back to life, to receive life.  quotations  examples

         Quotations

         • O I, as ſummers flies, are in the ſhambles,That quicken euen with blovving: […]

           c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, [Act IV, scene ii], page 71

         • Goddeſs of Shades, beneath whoſe gloomy ReignYon ſpangled Arch glows with the ſtarry Train,Who doſt the Cares of Heav'n and Earth allay,Till Nature quicken'd by th'Inſpiring Ray,Wakes to new Vigor with the riſing Day.

           1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], canto I, page 40

         • But in every VeinLife quickens againOn the Boſom of May.

           1729 April, [John] Gay, Polly: An Opera. Being the Second Part of The Beggar’s Opera, London: […] T. Thomson [actually by James Watson and Samuel Aris for Thomas Astley], […], Act I, scene i, page 4

         • Below were men and horses pierced with worms,And slowly quickening into lower forms;By shards and scurf of salt, and scum of dross,Old plash of rains, and refuse patch'd with moss.

           1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Vision of Sin”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], page 225

   6. (rare) To inspire or stimulate.

Senses relating to speed.

1. (transitive)

   1. To make (something) quicker or faster; to hasten, speed up.  quotations  examples

      Quotations

      • For you may ſooner by Imagination, quicken or ſlacke a Motion, than raiſe or ceaſe it; As it is eaſier to make a Dog goe ſlower, than to make him ſtand ſtill that he may not runne.

        1631, Francis [Bacon], “X. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Secret Vertue of Sympathy, and Antipathy.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], paragraph 990, page 255

      • Whoever has been much accuſtomed to viſit ſuch manufactures, muſt frequently have been ſhown very pretty machines, which were the inventions of common workmen in order to facilitate and quicken their own particular part of the work.

        1776 March 9, Adam Smith, “Of the Division of Labour”, in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], book I (Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers of Labour, […]), page 12

      • Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

        1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, page 168

      • That day Arya [Stark] quickened their pace, keeping the horses to a trot as long as she dared, and sometimes spurring to a gallop when she spied a flat stretch of field before them.

        2000 August 8, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “Arya”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Spectra, published November 2000, page 38

   2. (construction, nautical (shipbuilding), archaic) To shorten the radius of (a curve); to make (a curve) sharper, or (an incline) steeper.

2. (intransitive) To become quicker or faster.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Tess's breath quickened.

     1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXX, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume II, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], phase the fourth (The Consequence), page 118

   • His lips traveled to her wrist and she knew he must fell the leap of her pulse as her heart quickened and she tried to draw back her hand. She had not bargained on this—this treacherous warm tide of feeling that made her want to run her hands through his hair, to feel his lips upon her mouth.

     1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XIX, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, part IV, page 339

   • On straights speed would quicken to what was apparently the maximum allowed on this stretch, 140 k.p.h., or 87.5 m.p.h., and then one would see the track disappearing ahead round a sharpish curve, for there are some of 35 and 40 chains' radius on this side of the summit as well.

     1960 March, G. Freeman Allen, “Europe’s Most Luxurious Express – the ‘Settebello’”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, page 144

(transitive, rare) To apply quicksilver (mercury) to (something); to combine (something) with quicksilver; to quicksilver.

(chiefly Ireland, Northern England) In full quicken tree: the European rowan, rowan, or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia).  quotations  examples

(chiefly Midlands (northern), Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland) Synonym of couch grass (“a species of grass, Elymus repens”); also (chiefly in the plural), the underground rhizomes of this, and sometimes other grasses.  quotations  examples