Spoed

rush, hurry, haste, urgency Iconspeaker_3
[noun]
[de spoed, <no plural>]

"Spoed" is used for a job that has to be done quickly. Its meaning is closely related to "haast" ("haste") but is slightly more formal. The latter can be used for people as well as things that need urgent action or have to be concluded fast, e.g. "hij heeft haast" ("he’s in a rush") or "the job has to be done fast" ("de klus heeft haast"). "Spoed" cannot be used when referring to people. The related verb is "spoeden" ("to speed, to hurry"). This verb is seldomly used; the verb "haasten" ("to hurry, to make haste") is much more common. 

Examples:Spoed_5
– "De Britse natuurkundige Stephen Hawking werd afgelopen week met spoed in het ziekenhuis opgenomen." 
("The British physicist Stephen Hawking was rushed to the hospital last week.")

– "Met spoed gezocht: drie-kamer appartement in Amsterdam." 
("Urgently looking for apartment with three rooms in Amsterdam.")

– "De coalitiepartijen hielden gisteravond een spoeddebat over de Joint Strike Fighter." 
("The coalition parties held an emergency debate on the Joint Strike Fighter yesterday evening.")

– "Heb je het druk?" -"Ja, ik heb een spoedklus die over twee uur af moet zijn."
("Are you busy?" – "Yes, I have a rush job that needs to be finished in two hours.")

– "Ik heb enorme haast; kun je het kort houden?" 
("I’m in a huge rush; can you keep it brief?")

– "Haast je, anders mis je je trein!" 
("Hurry or you’ll miss your train!")

Expressions:
– "Haastige spoed is zelden goed": haste makes waste.

Related words:
– Spoedklus: rush job [noun] [de spoedklus, de spoedklussen].
– Spoeddebat: emergency debate [noun] [het spoeddebat, de spoeddebatten].
– Spoedcursus: intensive/crash course [noun] [de spoedcursus, de spoedcursussen].
– Spoedig: shortly, speedy [adjective/adverb].
– Spoeden: to speed, to hurry [verb] [spoedde, gespoed].Spoedeisend_2
– Haast: hurry [noun] [de haast, <no plural>].

Extra:
The emergency department of a hospital is called "Spoedeisende hulp" (lit.: "Urgent help"). Click here for more.