Meaning & use
burst speed
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
The maximum speed that can be reached for a short time, especially in a sudden effort.
Grammar: Can be used with 'a' or without an article: a burst speed of 100 km/h; measures burst speed.
Patterns
- burst speed of something
- reach a burst speed
- at burst speed
The cheetah can reach a burst speed of over 100 kilometers per hour for a few seconds.
This internet connection has a burst speed of 1 gigabit per second, but only for short downloads.
The sprinter's burst speed gave her an advantage in the final meters of the race.
nouncountable or uncountablecomputing
In computing, a temporary high rate of data transfer that is faster than the normal sustained rate.
Grammar: Often used with 'a' or in the phrase 'burst speed mode'. Contrasts with 'sustained speed'.
Patterns
- burst speed mode
- burst speed of data
- sustained vs burst speed
The network switch supports burst speed for short periods to handle sudden traffic.
Users may notice a burst speed when downloading small files, but large files transfer more slowly.
The advertised burst speed is not the same as the average speed you will experience.
Word forms
| plural | burst speeds |
|---|
Common combinations
- reach a burst speed
- The car can reach a burst speed of 250 km/h on a straight track.
- burst speed of
- The device has a burst speed of 500 megabytes per second.
- burst speed mode
- Enable burst speed mode for faster short transfers.
- sustained vs burst speed
- The manual explains the difference between sustained and burst speed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- top speed
- More general; it refers to the highest speed possible, not necessarily only for a short time.
- peak speed
- Similar, but often used in technical measurements; it may not emphasize the short duration as strongly.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: burst speed or burst rate?
burst speed vs burst rate
In photography, 'burst rate' refers to how many pictures a camera can take per second, not how fast data or an animal can move.
Practice
The external drive has a ______ of 1 GB/s for short transfers, but it slows down for large files.
Choose one answer.
'Burst speed' is the correct compound noun for a short period of maximum speed. 'Bursting speed' is not a standard phrase, 'burst speeds' is plural and would need a different sentence structure, and 'speed burst' reverses the usual order and is not used in this technical context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “burst speed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.