rapidity in moving, going, traveling, proceeding, or performing; swiftness; celerity: the speed of light; the speed of sound.
relative rapidity in moving, going, etc.; rate of motion or progress: full speed ahead.
full, maximum, or optimum rate of motion: The car gets to speed in just nine seconds.
Automotive. a transmission gear ratio.
Photography.
Also called film speed. the sensitivity of a film or paper to light, measured by an ASA or DIN index, which assigns low numbers to slow film and higher numbers to faster film.
Also called shutter speed. the length of time a shutter is opened to expose film.
the largest opening at which a lens can be used.
Slang. a stimulating drug, as caffeine, ephedrine, or especially methamphetamine or amphetamine.
Informal. a person or thing that is compatible with or typical of one's ability, personality, desires, etc.: My speed is writing postcards on the porch while everyone else is tearing around the tennis court.
Archaic. success or prosperity.
verb (used with object),sped[sped] /spɛd/ or speed·ed,speed·ing.
to promote the success of (an affair, undertaking, etc.); further, forward, or expedite.
to direct (the steps, course, way, etc.) with speed.
to increase the rate of speed of (usually followed by up): to speed up industrial production.
to bring to a particular speed, as a machine.
to cause to move, go, or proceed with speed.
to expedite the going of: to speed the parting guest.
Archaic. to cause to succeed or prosper.
verb (used without object),sped[sped] /spɛd/ or speed·ed,speed·ing.
to move, go, pass, or proceed with speed or rapidity.
to drive a vehicle at a rate that exceeds the legally established maximum: He was arrested for speeding.
to increase the rate of speed or progress (usually followed by up).
to get on or fare in a specified or particular manner.
Archaic. to succeed or prosper.
Idioms for speed
at full / top speed,
at the greatest speed possible: We drove down the highway at full speed.
to the maximum of one's capabilities; with great rapidity: He worked at full speed.
up to speed,
operating at full or optimum speed.
functioning or producing at an expected, acceptable, or competitive level; up to par: a new firm not yet up to speed.
Origin of speed
First recorded before 900; 1965–70 for def. 6; (noun) Middle English spede “good luck, prosperity, rapidity,” Old English spēd; cognate with Dutch spoed,Old High German spōt; akin to Old English spōwan “to prosper, succeed”; (verb) Middle English speden “to succeed, prosper, go with speed,” Old English spēdan “to succeed, prosper”; cognate with Old Saxon spōdian,Old High German spuoten
1, 2. Speed,velocity,quickness,rapidity,celerity,haste refer to swift or energetic movement or operation. Speed (originally prosperity or success) may apply to human or nonhuman activity and emphasizes the rate in time at which something travels or operates: the speed of light, of a lens, of an automobile, of thought.Velocity, a more learned or technical term, is sometimes interchangeable with speed : the velocity of light; it is commonly used to refer to high rates of speed, linear or circular: velocity of a projectile.Quickness, a native word, and rapidity, a synonym of Latin origin, suggest speed of movement or operation on a small or subordinate scale; quickness applies more to people ( quickness of mind, of perception, of bodily movement ), rapidity more to things, often in a technical or mechanical context: the rapidity of moving parts; a lens of great rapidity.Celerity, a somewhat literary synonym of Latin origin, refers usually to human movement or operation and emphasizes expedition, dispatch, or economy in an activity: the celerity of his response.Haste refers to the energetic activity of human beings under stress; it often suggests lack of opportunity for care or thought: to marry in haste; a report prepared in haste.16. See rush1.
speed·ing·ness,nounspeedless,adjectivemul·ti·speed,adjectiveoutspeed,verb (used with object),out·sped or out·speed·ed,out·speed·ing.o·ver·speed,verb,o·ver·sped or o·ver·speed·ed,o·ver·speed·ing.
Since then, total hours worked have rebounded at exactly the same speed.
Despite wildly different approaches, the US and UK are seeing identical declines in hours worked|Dan Kopf|September 17, 2020|Quartz
The discovery of this phenomenon, which theorists called universality, was as bizarre as finding that elephants and egrets move at precisely the same top speed.
How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics|Charlie Wood|September 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Added to which, a page that’s been properly optimized for speed might not need AMP for those speed gains, as well.
Google ranking factors to change search in 2021: Core Web Vitals, E-A-T, or AMP?|Aleh Barysevich|September 16, 2020|Search Engine Watch
You can coach sharpness within speeds, so that means how you start, how you push off and how you maintain your sprint speed by the technique that you use.
A Canadian Teenager Is One Of The Fastest Soccer Players In The World|Julian McKenzie|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
As the next flare runs into the protons released by the previous flare, it would accelerate protons and electrons in the same direction at the same speeds.
Neutrinos could reveal how fast radio bursts are launched|Lisa Grossman|September 16, 2020|Science News
Term limits could be a prescription to speed change along.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The jet engine instantly brought two advances over propellers: it doubled the speed and it was far more reliable.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One report has the AirAsia Airbus flying at a speed very close to what would trigger a low speed stall.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Said it was like speed dating because he was late after hitting every wrong gate on the lot.
Exclusive: Sony Emails Slam Leonardo DiCaprio, Willow and Jaden Smith, Gush Over Ryan Gosling|William Boot|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a flash he deflects the shot, with the speed of instinct, right past the goalkeeper.
Is Soccer Great Lionel Messi Corrupt?|Jack Holmes|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I suppose it is a sort of nemesis of wit; the skidding of a wheel in the height of its speed.
George Bernard Shaw|Gilbert K. Chesterton
And they have animals on which they sit, and which carry them at a speed far greater than that at which a man can run?
By Right of Conquest|G. A. Henty
Why should they not speed the conviction of him whose intrigues were accessory to this double homicide?
Oswald Langdon|Carson Jay Lee
The day appointed for sailing was fast approaching, and had to make all speed to get through various engagements in Manilla.
Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas|W. Hastings Macaulay
They started in an almost hopeless pursuit, for the speed of an Indian in the woods is hard to cope with.
Some Three Hundred Years Ago|Edith Gilman Brewster
British Dictionary definitions for speed
speed
/ (spiːd) /
noun
the act or quality of acting or moving fast; rapidity
the rate at which something moves, is done, or acts
physicsa scalar measure of the rate of movement of a body expressed either as the distance travelled divided by the time taken (average speed) or the rate of change of position with respect to time at a particular point (instantaneous speed). It is measured in metres per second, miles per hour, etc
a rate of rotation, usually expressed in revolutions per unit time
a gear ratio in a motor vehicle, bicycle, etc
(in combination)a three-speed gear
photoga numerical expression of the sensitivity to light of a particular type of film, paper, or plateSee also ISO rating
photoga measure of the ability of a lens to pass light from an object to the image position, determined by the aperture and also the transmitting power of the lens. It increases as the f-number is decreased and vice versa
a slang word for amphetamine
archaicprosperity or success
at speedquickly
up to speed
operating at an acceptable or competitive level
in possession of all the relevant or necessary information
verbspeeds, speeding, spedorspeeded
to move or go or cause to move or go quickly
(intr)to drive (a motor vehicle) at a high speed, esp above legal limits
(tr)to help further the success or completion of
(intr)slangto take or be under the influence of amphetamines
(intr)to operate or run at a high speed
archaic
(intr)to prosper or succeed
(tr)to wish success to
See also speed up
Derived forms of speed
speeder, noun
Word Origin for speed
Old English spēd (originally in the sense: success); related to spōwan to succeed, Latin spēs hope, Old Slavonic spěti to be lucky