picked up steam
Started moving faster
To pick up steam is to gain momentum or accelerate progress, from the image of a steam engine building pressure and power.
A project, movement, or campaign picks up steam when it starts advancing more rapidly after a slow beginning: The fundraiser picked up steam after the celebrity endorsement.
Negotiations had stalled but picked up steam in the final week.
- gathering paceIncreasing in velocity
- snowball effectAccelerating cumulative increase
- ramped upIncreased in degree
- velocityDirected rate of motion
- developmentProgress toward maturity
vigor · surge · get · took · hit the ground running · catch fire · in full swing · building up · expansion · dynamism · escalation · advancement · moving forward · on a roll · full speed ahead · take off · breakthrough · trajectory
picked up steamstalled
Stopped unexpectedly
slowed down · lost momentum · hit a wall · petered out · ran out of gas
picked up steamstagnated
Ceased all forward movement
regressed · backslid · went nowhere · fell apart · collapsed
picked up steamdied down
Became less intense
fell apart · collapsed · faded away · shut down · stopped dead
pick, picked, picking, picks, picker, pickers, steam, steams, steamed