quick

Less common meanings

6. 6
   under the nailsnoun

   The soft, sensitive skin under a fingernail or toenail.

   Like the tender skin you feel when a blister pops.

   She cut her nails too short and hit the quick.

   Biting his nails left the quick red and sore.

   UsageCutting nails to the quick means cutting them down to the sensitive skin underneath.

7. 7
   short-temperedadjective

   Getting angry very easily.

   Like a match that lights from the smallest spark.

   He is quick to get angry over little things.

   She has a quick temper and shouts when she's upset.

   UsageSay someone has a quick temper.

   Similarshort, hot, fiery, hasty

   Oppositepatient, calm, even

   Note
8. 8
   tender corenoun

   The deepest, most tender part of someone's feelings or body.

   Like touching a bruise that still hurts.

   The mean words hurt her to the quick.

   His joke about my father cut me to the quick.

   UsageCut to the quick means hurt very deeply.

   Similarcore, heart, bone

   Note
9. 9
   living peoplenounarchaicwith the

   People who are alive, not dead.

   Old tales say ghosts envy the quick.

   The priest said the quick and the dead would both be judged.

   Similarliving

   Oppositedead, deceased, departed

   Note
10. 10
    aliveadjectivearchaic

    Still alive and living, not dead or lifeless.

    Man is no star, but a quick coal / Of mortal fire.

    1633, George Herbert, The TempleHere, quick means alive, a living coal.

    The inmost oratory of my soul, Wherein thou ever dwellest quick or dead, Is black with grief eternal for thy sake.

    1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful NightHere, quick means alive, as in whether alive or dead.

    Note
11. 11
    fast bowlernouncountable

    In cricket, a bowler who sends the ball down very fast.

    Like a baseball pitcher who throws the ball as hard as he can.

    The team's best quick took five wickets today.

    Their fastest quick bowled the ball at terrific speed.

    UsageMore than one is quicks.

    Similarpaceman, speedster

    Oppositespinner

    Note
12. 12
    simple cluesadjective

    In crosswords, having simple clues instead of tricky ones.

    Like an easy quiz question that tells you exactly what to find.

    She prefers the quick crossword to the cryptic one.

    I always start with the quick crossword because the cryptic one is too hard.

    Oppositecryptic

    Note
13. 13
    unstable clayadjective

    Of clay, able to suddenly turn into a runny liquid when shaken or stressed.

    Like firm jelly that suddenly turns to water if you jiggle it hard enough.

    The ground was made of quick clay that turned to liquid when the earth shook.

    Builders stayed away from the quick clay near the river.

    Note
14. 14
    moving (unborn)adjectivearchaic

    An old word for an unborn baby that has grown enough to be felt moving, or for a woman carrying one.

    Note
15. 15
    flowing (water)adjectivearchaic

    Of water, moving and fresh, not still or standing.

    Note
16. 16
    hedge plantsnoununcountable

    Young living plants, usually hawthorn, set in the ground to grow into a hedge.

    Similarhawthorn

    Note
17. 17
    creeping grassnoununcountable

    A creeping weedy grass that spreads by tough underground stems and is hard to clear away.

    Like a weed that grows back from even a tiny piece of root left behind.

    The garden bed was full of quick that kept coming back no matter what.

    She pulled the quick from between the rows of beans.

    Similarcouch

    Note
18. 18
    burningadjectivearchaic

    Burning, or easily set on fire.

    Note
19. 19
    bring to lifeverbarchaictransitive

    To bring something to life or stir it into action.

    I rose as if quicked by a spur I was bound to obey.

    1917, Thomas Hardy, At the Word ‘Farewell’Here, quicked means stirred into action, as if brought to life.

    Note
20. 20
    adjectiveobsolete

    Fresh and sharp in a way that feels bracing.

    Note
21. 21
    mercury coatverbtransitive

    To coat a metal surface with mercury before adding gold or silver.
22. 22
    adjective

    Of a vein in rock, holding ore that is worth mining, not empty.