overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

rapid.

Very swift or quick.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɹæp.ɪd/Canada, Received-Pronunciation, US

  1. Very swift or quick.

    a rapid stream
    rapid growth

  2. Steep, changing altitude quickly. (of a slope)

  3. Needing only a brief exposure time. (of a lens, plate, film, etc.)

  4. Violent, severe.

    England · dialectal

  5. Happy.

    dialectal · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. Middle French rapidebor. ▲ Latin rapidusbor. English rapid Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

adv/ˈɹæp.ɪd/Canada, Received-Pronunciation, US

  1. Rapidly.

    archaic · colloquial
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. Middle French rapidebor. ▲ Latin rapidusbor. English rapid Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

noun/ˈɹæp.ɪd/Canada, Received-Pronunciation, US

  1. A rough section of a river or stream which is difficult to navigate due to the swift and turbulent motion of the water.

    plural-normally

  2. A burst of rapid fire.

    dated

  3. Ellipsis of rapid chess.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti Proto-Italic *rapjō Latin rapiō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin rapidusder. Middle French rapidebor. ▲ Latin rapidusbor. English rapid Borrowed from Middle French rapide and its etymon Latin rapidus.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

rapid has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

rapid studiorapid workshello, rapid

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.