speed
speed Lexical Profile
speed Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The rate at which someone or something moves, operates, or is able to move or operate; in physics, the scalar magnitude of velocity measured as distance traveled per unit of time.
"The high-speed train reached a maximum speed of two hundred miles per hour during the test run."
Rapidity of movement, action, or performance; swiftness.
"The emergency response team acted with remarkable speed to contain the chemical spill."
Each of the possible gear ratios of a bicycle, motor vehicle, or mechanical transmission system.
"She rides a lightweight ten-speed bicycle for her daily commute through the hills."
In photography, the sensitivity of film or an imaging sensor to light, or the duration of a camera shutter exposure.
"Using a fast shutter speed allowed the photographer to freeze the motion of the diving kingfisher."
An amphetamine or methamphetamine drug used illicitly as a central nervous system stimulant (slang).
"The health clinic offers counseling and rehabilitation for individuals struggling with addiction to speed."
• verb
To move, travel, or proceed quickly.
"The ambulance sped through the city streets with its sirens blaring."
To drive a motor vehicle at a rate that exceeds the legal speed limit.
"The driver was pulled over and fined for speeding in a residential school zone."
To cause to move, progress, or happen more quickly; to hasten or accelerate.
"Proper rest and balanced nutrition will help speed your recovery from the surgery."
Word Nuance & Usage
As a verb, 'sped' is the standard past tense and past participle for physical movement or rapid progression, whereas the regular form 'speeded' is required for the phrasal verb 'speed up' and for adjusting mechanical gear or engine rates.
• Rhymes for speed
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'spēd', originally meaning 'success, prosperity, or a successful course', from Proto-Germanic '*spōdiz'. The sense of 'rapidity of movement' developed in Middle English from the notion of progressing well.