Meaning & use
average speed
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablephysicstechnical
The total distance traveled divided by the total time taken, giving one typical speed for the whole trip.
Grammar: Often used with 'of': an average speed of 60 miles per hour.
Patterns
- an average speed of something
- at an average speed of something
The train kept an average speed of 90 miles per hour.
We drove 120 miles in two hours, so our average speed was 60.
Her average speed during the race was faster than last year.
nouncountable or uncountable
The usual rate at which people or things move in everyday situations, such as in traffic.
Grammar: Often used with 'in' or 'on': average speed in city traffic.
Patterns
- average speed in something
The average speed in city traffic has dropped this year.
Cyclists keep a lower average speed on hills.
The average speed of the ferry is about 20 knots.
Common combinations
- calculate the average speed
- Calculate the average speed for the whole journey.
- maintain an average speed
- The cyclist maintained an average speed of 25 kilometers per hour.
- an average speed of
- The bus traveled at an average speed of 40 miles per hour.
- average speed camera
- An average speed camera measures your speed over a long stretch.
- higher average speed
- Their higher average speed won them the race.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mean speed
- Mean speed is a more technical way to say average speed and is common in science classes.
- typical speed
- Typical speed means the usual speed, without implying a calculation.
- average velocity
- Average velocity includes direction and uses displacement, so it can differ from average speed.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: average speed or average velocity?
average speed vs average velocity
Velocity includes direction and displacement, while average speed uses total distance only.
Practice
A car travels 150 miles in 3 hours. What is its average speed?
Choose one answer.
Average speed is distance divided by time, so 150 divided by 3 is 50 mph. 45 or 60 might seem close but do not match the calculation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “average speed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.