expeditious
ex-puh-DISH-uhs
/ˌekspəˈdɪʃəs/
Done with speed and efficiency.
The 'gold standard' of speed in business; it means fast and correct.
The story behind the word. Literally 'to free the feet'. It comes from the Latin 'expeditus', describing someone who has removed their foot from a snare or shackle and is now free to move quickly.
Word relationships
- efficient: Efficient focuses on lack of waste; expeditious focuses on the speed of that efficiency.
- inefficient: Inefficient is the lack of both speed and quality.
Commonly confused with
- hasty: Hasty is fast but careless; expeditious is fast and careful.
Word family
- expedite (verb): To make a process happen faster.
- expedition (noun): A journey made with a specific purpose (originally meant speed).
Collocations
- expeditious manner
- expeditious service
- expeditious processing
Example sentences
- "The company is committed to the expeditious handling of all customer complaints." Customer service.
- "The judge promised an expeditious trial to resolve the matter quickly." Legal proceedings.
Memory hook
Expeditious sounds like 'expert'—an expert does things fast and well. Expeditious = Expert Speed.
When not to use
Don't use it for a 'hasty' action that was done poorly.
Fun facts
- In the military, 'expeditionary' forces are those designed to be deployed with great speed.
Explore more words
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.