# rapid

Pronunciation: say "RAP-id" /ˈɹæpɪd/

## Adjective

1. Happening or moving with great speed; very quick.
   - Simple: Happening or moving very fast.
   - _The region underwent rapid industrialization in the 1950s._
   - _Her rapid response to the alarm saved several lives._
3. Steep; rising or falling in altitude over a short horizontal distance, said of a slope.
   - Simple: Sloping sharply up or down over a short distance.
   - _The surveyors mapped a rapid incline along the canyon wall._
   - _A rapid drop in the terrain forced the road to switchback._
4. Of a lens, plate, or film: requiring only a brief exposure time to capture an image.
   - Simple: Needing only a short time to take a photo, as fast film or a fast lens does.
   - _The studio kept a rapid plate on hand for low-light portraits._
   - _Early sports photographers prized rapid emulsions for freezing motion._
6. Marked by violence or severity. *(dialectal, England)*
   - Simple: Very strong, harsh, or violent.
   - _The quarrel grew rapid, ending with broken windows and bruised knuckles._
   - _The wound he took in the brawl was rapid, and he carried the scar for years._

## Noun

2. A stretch of a river or stream where the water moves swiftly and turbulently, making it difficult to navigate.
   - Simple: A stretch of fast, rough water in a river that is hard to travel through.
   - _Experienced rafters learn to read each rapid before entering it._
   - _The river's rapids churned white against the rocks below._
5. Ellipsis of rapid chess. — Ellipsis of rapid chess.
   - Simple: Short form of rapid chess. It means chess played with fast time limits.
   - _The grandmaster dominated the rapid but lost the blitz playoff._
   - _Organizers added a rapid to the weekend tournament schedule._

## Noun

7. A short burst of rapidly repeated fire from a gun, delivered as fast as the weapon allows. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A short burst of fast gunfire.
   - _The sergeant ordered a rapid as the enemy crossed the open ground._
   - _Several rapids from the redoubt scattered the cavalry charge._

## Adverb

8. Rapidly; in a swift or quick manner. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: In a fast or quick way.
   - _The fever came on rapid, and by morning he was bedridden._
   - _Word spread rapid through the village after the news arrived._

## Adjective

9. Happy and in good spirits. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Feeling glad and cheerful.

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French "rapide" and its source, the Latin word "rapidus."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rapid (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).