gathered pace
Built up momentum
To gather pace is to accelerate or gain momentum, whether literally or figuratively.
A rolling ball gathers pace down a hill.
More often the phrase describes processes or movements gaining speed: The campaign gathered pace in the final weeks.
Reforms gathered pace after the election.
The past tense appears in narratives describing how something built momentum over time.
- snowballingIncreasing by rapid accumulation
- snowball effectAccelerating cumulative increase
- picking up steamIncreasing in momentum
- surgeSudden powerful increase
- rushQuick sudden movement
charge · gaining ground · escalation · crescendo · building momentum · dash · buildup · quickening · acceleration · on the rise · development · intensification · rapid fire · zoom · proliferation · fast track · mobilization · momentum
gathered paceslowed down
Reduced velocity
lost momentum · decelerated · stalled · petered out · wound down
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