What does quicker mean?
Quicker is the comparative form of the adjective quick and can also function as the comparative of the adverb quickly. It describes something that moves, happens, or is completed with greater speed, or that takes less time than something else. Typical contexts include comparisons of vehicles, processes, reactions, and delivery services: a newer phone may be quicker, while a revised procedure may produce results more quickly. The word is common in everyday British and American English and is usually less formal than alternatives such as "more rapid." Because it explicitly expresses comparison, it normally appears with than or in a sentence that makes the comparison implicit. As an adverb, it can modify verbs directly, as in "Please respond quicker," though "more quickly" is often preferred in precise formal writing. Although quicker looks like a distinct word in isolation, it retains the comparative sense of its base form rather than introducing a separate meaning.
Moving, acting, or done with greater speed than something else.
"The express train is quicker than the local service."
As a comparative adjective, it normally makes an implicit or explicit comparison.
In a more rapid manner or with less elapsed time.
"The application loads quicker after the latest update."
This is the comparative form of quickly; "more quickly" may sound more formal.
Quicker is how speed wins a race: it adds comparison without needing the word "fast."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quicker come from?
Quicker comes from the Old English adjective quick, which originally conveyed the idea of being alive, alert, or brisk. In Middle English, quick developed toward its modern sense of rapid or fast. The comparative form quicker was formed by adding the suffix -er to this inherited adjective, while the adverb quickly developed separately through the formation of the adjective quick plus the adverbial suffix -ly.
Related word forms
How quicker is actually used
"Quicker" is standard in both formal and informal contexts. It is the comparative of both the adjective "quick" and the adverb "quickly"; in everyday use it commonly conveys greater speed without the added formality of "more rapid."
Easily confused with quicker
"Quick" describes the quality of being fast, whereas "quicker" is its comparative form and requires something against which the greater speed is compared.