Haste Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Usage

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms haste American [heyst] / heɪst /

noun

1. swiftness of motion; speed; celerity.

   He performed his task with great haste. They felt the need for haste.

   Antonyms: sloth

2. urgent need of quick action; a hurry or rush.

   to be in haste to get ahead in the world.

   Synonyms: urgency, ado, bustle, flurry

3. unnecessarily quick action; thoughtless, rash, or undue speed.

   Haste makes waste.

   Synonyms: precipitation, precipitancy

verb (used with or without object)

hasted, hasting

1. Archaic. to hasten.

idioms

1. make haste, to act or go with speed; hurry.

   She made haste to tell the president the good news.

haste British / heɪst /

noun

1. speed, esp in an action; swiftness; rapidity

2. the act of hurrying in a careless or rash manner

3. a necessity for hurrying; urgency

4. to hurry; rush

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. a poetic word for hasten

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 haste More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing haste

• make haste

Usage

What does haste mean? Haste most commonly refers to urgency, such as in completing a task.It can also be used as another word for speed or swiftness, as in We have to move with haste if we want to make it on time. The phrase make haste means to move quickly, hurry up, or rush.Often, haste means urgency or speed that is careless or reckless. This is how the word is used in the expression haste makes waste, which means that rushing things leads to mistakes.The adjective form hasty is most often used in this sense—a hasty decision is one that is thought to have been made too quickly, perhaps leading to negative consequences. The adverb form is hastily.The verb hasten means to go faster or cause to go faster, as in We need to hasten our efforts.Example: In my haste to finish the project, I forgot to put my name on it.

Related Words

See speed.

Other Word Forms

• hasteful adjective
• hastefully adverb
• hasteless adjective
• hastelessness noun
• unhasted adjective
• unhasting adjective

Etymology

Origin of haste

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French from Germanic; akin to Old Frisian hāste, Old English hæst “violence,” Old Norse heifst “hatred,” Gothic haifsts “quarrel”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Parliament members now need to make haste so that they can bring in skilled, honest and deserving candidates to the seats reserved for women in parliament."

From BBC

But he argued that the transition was launched in haste, pointing to a shortage of teachers, as well as teaching guides and materials.

From Barron's

Turns out, Thollander was right: This experience had nothing to do with haste.

From Los Angeles Times

I tripped in my haste, and he caught me and lifted me clear of the boat, clear of the water, and held me close.

From Literature

If I were unlucky enough to do so, I’d instantly lose my appetite, spitting out those pungent, peppery seeds with such haste and chugging glasses of water in an attempt to clean my palate.

From Salon

Related Words

• alacrity
• urgency

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.