or speeded; speeding
Synonyms
Noun
Verb
- barrel
- belt
- blast
- blaze
- blow
- bolt
- bomb [slang]
- bowl
- breeze
- bundle
- bustle
- buzz
- cannonball
- careen
- career
- chase
- course
- crack (on)
- dash
- drive
- fly
- hare
- hasten
- hie
- highball
- hotfoot (it)
- hump
- hurl
- hurry
- hurtle
- hustle
- jet
- jump
- motor
- nip
- pelt
- race
- ram
- rip
- rocket
- run
- rush
- rustle
- scoot
- scurry
- scuttle
- shoot
- step
- tear
- travel
- trot
- whirl
- whisk
- zip
- zoom
Examples of speed in a Sentence
Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024
According to the program’s website, the campus is expected to feature strength and conditioning rooms, speed and agility training areas, tumbling mat space, cold plunges, a therapeutic swim spa, turf training areas, batting cages and a golf simulator.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
Needing one final stop, the Lakers and Grizzlies scrambled for a loose ball, with James intercepting a pass while streaking the other way at full speed.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Wiggins is a top-tier athlete with rare recovery speed, and is capable of thriving in man or zone coverage.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2024
Additionally, the department urged drivers to reduce speed and merge safely when passing through construction zones.
—Madeline Nguyen, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
For aerobic exercise like brisk walking or jogging, start slow and gradually increase speed by taking longer strides or more frequent strides.
—Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 11 Apr. 2024
There are six categories to classify the rotational speed of tornadoes (EF0-EF5) but just two levels to warn of tornado activity.
—Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 2 Apr. 2024
Vehicle speed — When a vehicle’s speed increases, the tire-traction grip and ability to control the vehicle decreases.
—Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2024
Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Apr. 2024
The troopers tumbled to the ground and the car sped away before coming to a stop a quarter of a mile away.
—Ernesto Londoño, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Both vehicles were allegedly speeding on North Central Expressway near University Boulevard when Rice’s car hit the center median wall, leading to a chain reaction involving four other vehicles.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
Good behavior in jail or prison can speed things up even more.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Both are alleged to have been speeding in the left lane of North Central Expressway near University Boulevard.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Witnesses reported seeing a speeding driver heading north on the southbound freeway in the fast lane near the border, the CHP said on its online log.
—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2024
The driver of the speeding car, an 18-year-old, was arrested.
—Journal Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2024
When the environment is harsh and unpredictable, threatening survival, the timing of development tends to speed up, leading to individuals who mature quickly—recognizing and responding appropriately to danger as youngsters.
—Marc D. Hauser, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
Middle English sped, speede, spede "luck, fortune, good fortune, success, assistance, benefit, rate of motion or progress," going back to Old English spēd "luck, success, riches, opportunity, power," spēdum (dative plural used adverbially) "swiftly," going back to West Germanic *spōdi- (whence also Old Saxon spōd "success, advantage," Middle Dutch spoed "prosperity, progress, haste," Old High German spuot "quickness, velocity"), derivative with the abstract noun suffix -ti- from the base of *spōan- "to succeed" (whence Old English spōwan "to succeed, thrive" [Class VII strong verb], Middle Dutch spoen "to strive," Old High German spuoen "to succeed"), going back to an o-grade derivative of the Indo-European verbal base *speh1- "thrive, prosper," whence also Old Church Slavic spějǫ, spěti "to have success," Lithuanian spė́ju, spė́ti "to manage (to do something)," Sanskrit sphā́yate "(s/he) grows fat, increases," Hittite išpāi "(s/he) gets full, is satiated"; as nominal derivatives Latin spēs "hope" (< *speh1-), Latin prosperus "agreeable to one's wishes, successful, prosperous," Old Russian sporŭ "abundant," Sanskrit sphiráḥ "fat" (< *sph1-ró-)
Verb
Middle English speden "to succeed, fare, assist, travel swiftly," going back to Old English spēdan, gespēdan "to have success, succeed, prosper," verbal derivative of spēd "luck, success" — more at speed entry 1
Note: Parallel Germanic formations are Old Saxon spōdian "to further, promote" and Old High German gispuoten "to make thrive."
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 7
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3a
Phrases Containing speed
Articles Related to speed
Dictionary Entries Near speed
Cite this Entry
“Speed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speed. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
speed
1 of 2 nounspeed
2 of 2 verb
or speeded; speeding
Medical Definition
speed
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on speed
Nglish: Translation of speed for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of speed for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about speed
Share