Word of the Day
: May 23, 2026expedite
playWhat It Means
To expedite something is to cause it to happen faster.
// We’ll do what we can to expedite the processing of your application.
expedite in Context
“The new task force ... is required to submit an initial report in 60 days and final report in 90 days with recommendations to simplify, improve and expedite hiring.” — Blake Paterson, NOLA.com (New Orleans, Louisiana), 7 Apr. 2026
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 to 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 difficulty.” 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.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Quiz
Unscramble the letters to reveal another word from Latin ped- or pes (“foot”) that means “to interfere with or slow the progress of”: DEEMPI.
VIEW THE ANSWERPodcast
More Words of the Day
-
May 27
benevolent
-
May 26
Gordian knot
-
May 25
sacrosanct
-
May 24
onus
-
May 22
fraught
-
May 21
lacuna
