speed up

Verb

speed up (third-person singular simple present speeds up, present participle speeding up, simple past and past participle speeded up or sped up)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To accelerate; to increase speed.
   • The car sped up as it went around the corner.

   Synonyms:

   pick up speed

   Antonyms:

   hold up, let up, slow, slow down, slow up

2. (transitive) To accelerate (something): to increase its speed, to make it go faster.
   • You shouldn't speed up your car when you go around corners.
   • More fast trains between England and Scotland, and additional "car-sleeper" overnight services for motorists, are important features of British Railways summer timetables, which come into operation on June 17. In all, 98 long-distance trains will be speeded-up to save 10-75 min. and many will make...1957 June, “Notes and News: B.R. Summer Passenger Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 433

   Synonyms:

   smarten

   Antonyms:

   hold up, slow, slow down