Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,586,583,126 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

urgency

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
ur·gen·cy  (ûrjn-s)
n. pl. ur·gen·cies
1. The quality or condition of being urgent; pressing importance: the urgency of the call for help; pleading with urgency.
2. A pressing necessity.

Urgency 

all hands and the cook A state of emergency which of necessity becomes everyone’s top priority. This early American cowboy expression described the precarious state of affairs in which the herds were wild and all available persons were needed to bring the situation under control. Under normal circumstances, cowboys tended herds and cooks fed the cowhands; however, an emergency required that everyone chip in, temporarily ignoring differences of rank or task.

D-day See TIME.

sands are running out Time is passing; the remaining time is getting short; life is waning. The allusion is to the sands of an hourglass which have long been a symbol of the time allotted for an individual’s life.

I saw, my time, how it did run, as sand out of the glass. (Lord Henry Haward, Tottel’s Miscellany, 1557)

when push comes to shove See EXACERBATION.

when the chips are down When the situation is crucial or urgent; when action must be taken; in the clutch. This expression appears to derive from poker; the chips are “down” when they are “in,” i.e., when everyone has anted up and must play his hand.

zero hour See TIME.

ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.urgency - the state of being urgenturgency - the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity
necessity - the condition of being essential or indispensable
hurry, haste - a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry; "in a hurry to lock the door"
imperativeness, insistency, press, insistence, pressure - the state of demanding notice or attention; "the insistence of their hunger"; "the press of business matters"
criticality, criticalness, cruciality - a state of critical urgency
2.urgency - pressing importance requiring speedy actionurgency - pressing importance requiring speedy action; "the urgency of his need"
importance - the quality of being important and worthy of note; "the importance of a well-balanced diet"
sharpness, edge - the attribute of urgency in tone of voice; "his voice had an edge to it"
imperativeness, instancy - the quality of being insistent; "he pressed his demand with considerable instancy"
3.urgency - an urgent situation calling for prompt actionurgency - an urgent situation calling for prompt action; "I'll be there, barring any urgencies"; "they departed hurriedly because of some great urgency in their affairs"
situation - a complex or critical or unusual difficulty; "the dangerous situation developed suddenly"; "that's quite a situation"; "no human situation is simple"
4.urgency - insistent solicitation and entreaty; "his importunity left me no alternative but to agree"
solicitation - an entreaty addressed to someone of superior status; "a solicitation to the king for relief"

urgency
noun importance, need, necessity, gravity, pressure, hurry, seriousness, extremity, exigency, imperativeness It is a matter of utmost urgency.
Translations
urgency [ˈɜːdʒənsɪ] N
1. (= haste) → urgencia f
not everyone had the same sense of urgencyno todo el mundo tenía el mismo sentido de la urgencia
it is a matter of urgencyes un asunto urgente
the problem must be tackled as a matter of urgencyel problema debe tratarse con la máxima urgencia
2. [of tone of voice, pleas] → urgencia f
with a note of urgency in his voicecon un tono de urgencia

urgency [ˈɜːrdʒənsi] n
[situation, problem] → urgence f
sense of urgency → sentiment m d'urgence
as a matter of urgency → de toute urgence
[tone, voice, look] → insistance f
the note of urgency (in voice)le ton pressant

urgency
nDringlichkeit f; (of tone of voice, pleas also)Eindringlichkeit f; it’s a matter of urgencydas ist dringend; to treat something as a matter of urgencyetw als dringend behandeln; there’s no urgencyes eilt nicht, das hat keine Eile; there was a note of urgency in his voicees klang sehr dringend; the urgency of our needsdie dringende Notwendigkeit; his statement lacked urgencyseinen Worten fehlte der Nachdruck; the urgency of his stepseine eiligen Schritte; the sense of urgency in the musicdas Drängen in der Musik

urgency [ˈɜːdʒnsɪ] n (of case, need) → urgenza; (of tone of voice, pleas) → insistenza
it is a matter of urgency → è una questione della massima urgenza

urgency أهمية مُلحة naléhavost uopsættelighed Dringlichkeit επιτακτικότητα urgencia kiireellisyys urgence hitnost urgenza 緊急 긴급 spoed hastverk pilna potrzeba urgência срочность brådska การเร่งรีบ ivedilik sự khẩn cấp 紧急情况


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in classic literature?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
 
One day I received a telegram from my father of such urgency that in compliance with its unexplained demand I left at once for home.
Dashwood recommended, with all the strength and urgency which illness could command, the interest of his mother-in-law and sisters.
With an alacrity beyond the common impulse of a spirit which yet was never indifferent to the credit of doing every thing well and attentively, with the real goodwill of a mind delighted with its own ideas, did she then do all the honours of the meal, and help and recommend the minced chicken and scalloped oysters, with an urgency which she knew would be acceptable to the early hours and civil scruples of their guests.
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.