Meaning & use
speed
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
How fast someone or something moves or happens.
Grammar: Often uncountable: at high speed; or countable for a figure: a top speed.
Patterns
- at speed
- the speed of something
The train reached a speed of 200 miles per hour.
She admired the speed of the runner.
He typed at great speed.
verbintransitive
To move or go quickly, or to drive faster than the law allows.
Grammar: No object: the car sped away.
Patterns
- speed along
- speed past something
The ambulance sped past us.
Drivers who speed risk a fine.
The cyclist sped down the hill.
verbtransitive
To make something happen sooner or more quickly.
Grammar: Usually with up: speed up the process.
Patterns
- speed something up
New software will speed up the checkout.
The agency hopes to speed the repairs.
Extra staff sped the work.
noununcountableslang
A slang word for amphetamine, an illegal stimulant drug.
Grammar: Slang, no article.
Patterns
- be on speed
The report warned about speed use among students.
He was arrested for selling speed.
Word forms
| plural | speeds |
|---|---|
| third person singular | speeds |
| past tense | sped |
| past participle | sped |
| -ing form | speeding |
Common combinations
- top speed
- The car hit its top speed on the straight.
- speed limit
- Keep to the speed limit near schools.
- at high speed
- They drove away at high speed.
- speed up
- Can you speed up a little?
- speed of light
- Nothing travels faster than the speed of light.
- pick up speed
- The bike picked up speed on the slope.
Synonyms and how they differ
- velocity
- Velocity is a physics term that includes direction, whereas speed does not.
- pace
- Pace is the rate of steady movement or progress, often of walking or work.
- rate
- Rate is a broader measure of how much per unit of time.
- haste
- Haste suggests rushing, often carelessly, while speed is neutral.
Opposites
Word family
- speedy adjective
- fast
- speedily adverb
- quickly
- speeding noun
- driving over the limit
- speedometer noun
- a gauge showing how fast a vehicle goes
- speedster noun
- a very fast person or vehicle
Commonly confused: speed or speeded?
speed vs speeded
Speeded and sped are both used as past forms; sped is more common for moving fast, and speeded up is typical with up.
Practice
The police stopped the driver for traveling above the ___ limit.
Choose one answer.
Speed limit is the fixed collocation for a legal maximum. The other nouns do not combine with limit in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.