expedite
verb
ex·pe·dite
ˈek-spə-ˌdīt 
expedited; expediting
1
: to accelerate the process or progress of : speed up
2
: to execute promptly
Did you know?
Need someone to do something in a hurry? You can tell that person to step on it—or you can tell them expedite it. Figurative feet are involved in both cases, though less obviously in the second choice. Expedite comes from the Latin verb expedire, meaning “to free from entanglement” or “to release (a person) especially from a confined position.” The feet come in at that word’s root: it traces back to Latin ped- or pes, meaning “foot.” Expedient and expedition also stepped into English by way of expedire.
Examples of expedite in a Sentence
During the fire season they wear a semblance of uniform intended to expedite the rush when the siren howls …
—
Tom Harpole, Air & Space, August/September 1993
Overnight he found himself coordinating the train and ship schedules and expediting the loading and unloading of 15,000 officers and men …
—Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988
This final phase was never actually completed because of the need to expedite an airmobile force to Vietnam.
—Shelby L. Stanton, Anatomy of a Division, 1987
After the war its leaders were stigmatized as collaborators and accused of helping to expedite the murderous work of the Nazis.
—Bernard Wasserstein, New York Times Book Review, 24 May 1987
Recent Examples on the Web
The group further called on the trade officials to coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the approval of safe, alternative sources and to collaborate with Congress on efforts to make the supply chain more resilient.
—Joseph Choi, The Hill, 9 Apr. 2025
In mid-March, Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to expedite deportations.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
The companies overwhelmingly expect AI agents to expedite or completely automate more than at least a quarter of company workloads.
—Ece Yildirim, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2025
Experts, immigration attorneys and advocates told ABC News the Trump administration has been using an unprecedented application of immigration law to expedite their removals.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Expedite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expedite. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
Kids Definition
expedite
verb
ex·pe·dite
ˈek-spə-ˌdīt
expedited; expediting
: to speed up the process or progress of
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