To hasten means to move faster or make something happen more quickly. When dark clouds gather and you hasten home before the storm hits, you're picking up your pace deliberately. When a teacher hastens through announcements because class time is running short, she's speeding things up on purpose.

The word carries a sense of urgency or purpose. You don't hasten casually: you hasten because something matters. A scientist might hasten her research when she realizes she's close to an important discovery. A student hastens to finish homework before dinner guests arrive.

You can hasten your own actions, like hastening down the hallway between classes, or hasten events themselves. Watering a plant hastens its growth. Studying vocabulary every day hastens your progress toward a stronger vocabulary.

The related phrase make haste means the same thing but sounds more old-fashioned: “Make haste! The movie starts in ten minutes!” People also say “Haste makes waste” to warn that rushing carelessly can create mistakes, reminding us that hastening works best when you move quickly and carefully.