rapid

[rap-id] /ˈræp ɪd/
adjective, sometimes, rapider, rapidest.
1.
occurring within a short time; happening speedily:
rapid growth.
2.
moving or acting with great speed; swift:
a rapid worker.
3.
characterized by speed:
rapid motion.
noun
4.
Usually, rapids. a part of a river where the current runs very swiftly.
Origin
1625-35; < Latin rapidus tearing away, seizing, swift. See rape1, -id4
Related forms
rapidly, adverb
ultrarapid, adjective
ultrarapidly, adverb
Can be confused
fast, quick, rapid, swift (see synonym study at quick)
Synonyms
2. See quick.
Examples from the web for rapid
  • Electrical cardioversion, the use of electric shock to restore a rapid heartbeat back to normal.
  • Higher education, never a rapid adapter, struggled to figure out how best to make use of mobile devices and new capabilities.
  • The next step is to sort out what these genes do and which are responsible for large size and rapid growth.
  • Distinctive appearance, rapid growth, and easy culture are more add to my plant list.
  • Three-dimensional printing, at the heart of rapid prototyping, cannot yet create models that move.
  • Hyperventilation is rapid or deep breathing that can occur with anxiety or panic.
  • Higher education, never a rapid adapter, struggled to figure out.
  • They have already cut the poverty rate dramatically with their rapid growth.
  • The wealth that poured in led to a population spike and the small town's rapid growth.
  • May show partial defoliation after a cold snap, but recovery is rapid.
British Dictionary definitions for rapid

rapid

/ˈræpɪd/
adjective
1.
(of an action or movement) performed or occurring during a short interval of time; quick: a rapid transformation
2.
characterized by high speed: rapid movement
3.
acting or moving quickly; fast: a rapid worker
See also rapids
Derived Forms
rapidly, adverb
rapidity (rəˈpɪdɪtɪ), rapidness, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Latin rapidus tearing away, from rapere to seize; see rape1
Word Origin and History for rapid
adj.

1630s, "moving quickly," from French rapide (17c.) and directly from Latin rapidus "hasty, swift, rapid; snatching; fierce, impetuous," from rapere "hurry away, carry off, seize, plunder," from PIE root *rep- "to snatch" (cf. Greek ereptomai "devour," harpazein "snatch away," Lithuanian raples "tongs"). Meaning "happening in a short time" is from 1780. Related: Rapidly; rapidness. Rapid-transit first attested 1852, in reference to street railways; rapid eye movement is from 1906.