quickenquick‧en /ˈkwɪkən/ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
Ray glanced at his watch and quickened his pace (=began to walk faster). Companies are finding it hard to cope with the quickening pace of technological change.your heart/pulse/breathing quickens (=your heart beats faster because you are afraid, excited etc) She caught sight of Rob and felt her heart quicken.2formal if a feeling quickens, or if something quickens it, it becomes stronger or more active SYN increase: This policy served only to quicken anti-government feeling.
VERB TABLE
quicken
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | quicken |
| he, she, it | quickens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | quickened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have quickened |
| he, she, it | has quickened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had quickened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will quicken |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have quickened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am quickening |
| he, she, it | is quickening | |
| you, we, they | are quickening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was quickening |
| you, we, they | were quickening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been quickening |
| he, she, it | has been quickening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been quickening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be quickening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been quickening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Interest in the idea has quickened recently.
- He quickened his pace to try and intercept her but the crowds on the pavement and the traffic on the street intervened.
- It is not just the pace of testing that is quickening.
- She found she was sweating and her breathing had quickened.
- Suddenly his heart beat faster and he quickened his pace, in the grip of dreadful panic.
Longman Language Activatorto move or work faster
· Could you go a little faster? We don't want to miss our plane.move/work etc faster · You'll have to work a lot faster than this.faster and faster (=more and more quickly) · I could feel my heart beating faster and faster.
to make something happen more quickly: · Nancy, if you don't speed up we'll be here until midnight.speed something up: · I'll phone the manager and get them to speed things up.speed up something: · The company announced they're speeding up plans to expand the site.
if a vehicle, especially a large vehicle picks up speed or gathers speed , it starts to gradually move faster: · Francis leaned back in his seat as the plane picked up speed.· The truck was already moving, gathering speed with a deep-throated roar.
if a vehicle or driver accelerates , they go faster, especially suddenly: · The Ferrari Mondial can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds.· The truck's wheels skidded on the snow as the driver accelerated forward.
written to begin to walk faster - use this especially in stories or descriptions of events: · Suddenly realizing he was late, he quickened his pace towards the hotel.· "I have some questions to ask you, Mr Murray,'' said the reporter, quickening his pace to keep up with me.
if something gains or gathers momentum , it travels faster and faster, especially going down a hill, because it is pushed forward by the force of its own weight: · Gradually the train gathered momentum, and within seconds it was moving at top speed.· The slope was getting steeper and their sledge was gaining momentum all the time.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Ray glanced at his watch and quickened his pace (=began to walk faster).
1 written to become quicker or make something quicker: Ray glanced at his watch and quickened his pace (=began to walk faster). (=your heart beats faster because you are afraid, excited etc) She caught sight of Rob and felt her heart quicken.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES She caught sight of Rob and felt her heart quicken.· The pace of change is quickening.
(=starts to beat faster)· He heard a footfall in the passage outside and felt his pulse quicken.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Her heart quickened to see it; she had imagined the resort often, of course, but without actually picturing it.· The sight of Gustave Eiffel's soaring pyramid makes the visitor's heart quicken.· My heart quickens when I see him.· Claudia's heart thudded fiercely and she felt Roman's heart quicken in response.· Her thoughts were growing darker: occasionally one would cause her heart to quicken its beat and then quieten again.
· As the pace began to quicken and the complicated threads of the chant began to rise Rincewind found himself watching fascinated.· Hughes went past without acknowledging him, his pace quickening.· However, the pace of decline has quickened in the post-war period.· This weakness is particularly evident early in the book, but it fortunately gives way when the pace quickens.· Local organizational clout started to tell as the pace of the primaries quickened.
· He doubted if his pulse had even quickened as he killed.· He heard a footfall in the passage outside and felt his pulse quicken.· As a result, Liz's pulse quickens and her blood pressure rises.
VERB· She felt his breathing quicken and the beat of his heart.· She could feel her breathing quicken.· Claudia's heart thudded fiercely and she felt Roman's heart quicken in response.· I asked first about my bag and felt my breathing quicken when the chief seemed unable to find my deposition.· He heard a footfall in the passage outside and felt his pulse quicken.· Vincent felt his heartbeat quicken, and tightened his grip on Lily's hand.· You feel a quickening in the undertow.
Ray glanced at his watch and quickened his pace (=began to walk faster). Companies are finding it hard to cope with the quickening pace of technological change.your heart/pulse/breathing quickens (=your heart beats faster because you are afraid, excited etc) She caught sight of Rob and felt her heart quicken.2formal if a feeling quickens, or if something quickens it, it becomes stronger or more active SYN increase: This policy served only to quicken anti-government feeling.