What does "pace" mean?
A step.; A step taken with the foot.
Pace
/ˈpætʃeɪ/ adj, name, noun, prep, verb
adj, name, noun, prep, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A step.; A step taken with the foot.
- Grammar: pace is listed as adj, name, noun, prep, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: rate, step, stride, tempo.
- Useful contrasts: extended pause, blitzing, decelerate.
- Usage evidence: Why don't we drive out to the country for a change of pace?
How to use "pace"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pace" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pace" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pace" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pace" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pace" is acting as adj, name, noun, prep, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pace", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A step.; A step taken with the foot.
- 2 Easter.
- 3 a step in walking or running wordnet
- 4 A step.; The distance covered in a step (or sometimes two), either vaguely or according to various specific set measurements.
"Even at the duel, standing 10 paces apart, he could have satisfied Aaron’s honor."
- 5 the relative speed of progress or change wordnet
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 A way of stepping.; A manner of walking, running or dancing; the rate or style of how someone moves with their feet.
"Netherlands, one of the pre-tournament favourites, combined their undoubted guile, creativity, pace and attacking quality with midfield grit and organisation."
- 7 a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride wordnet
- 8 A way of stepping.; Any of various gaits of a horse, specifically a 2-beat, lateral gait.
- 9 the distance covered by a step wordnet
- 10 Speed or velocity in general.
"For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye."
- 11 the rate of moving (especially walking or running) wordnet
- 12 A measure of the hardness of a pitch and of the tendency of a cricket ball to maintain its speed after bouncing.
"He didn't bowl a lot of pace in the first T20I."
- 13 the rate of some repeating event wordnet
- 14 A group of donkeys. collective
"[…] but at Broadstairs and other places along the coast, a pace of donkeys stood on the sea-shore expectant (at least, their owners were expectant) of children clamouring to ride."
- 15 A passage, a route.; One's journey or route. obsolete
- 16 A passage, a route.; A passage through difficult terrain; a mountain pass or route vulnerable to ambush etc. obsolete
"But when she saw them gone she forward went, / As lay her journey, through that perlous Pace [...]."
- 17 A passage, a route.; An aisle in a church. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To walk back and forth in a small distance.
"Groups of men, in all imaginable attitudes, were lying, standing, sitting, or pacing up and down."
- 2 measure (distances) by pacing wordnet
- 3 To set the speed in a race.
"The clubs in London, Manchester, Birmingham, etc., hold various track meetings for races varying from one mile to fifty miles, the longer distances being sometimes paced by tandems."
- 4 regulate or set the pace of wordnet
- 5 To measure by walking.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 walk with slow or fast paces wordnet
- 7 go at a pace wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Describing a bowler who bowls fast balls. not-comparable
Preposition
- 1 With all due respect to. formal
"She is marvelous here, but he (pace many critics) is no bumpkin"
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 2 A surname.
- 3 Acronym of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. UK, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 A census-designated place in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States.
- 5 Acronym of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States.
Antonyms
Example
"Why don't we drive out to the country for a change of pace?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pace"?
Common synonyms include: rate, step, stride, tempo, adjust, amble.
How do you use "pace" in a sentence?
Why don't we drive out to the country for a change of pace?
How do you pronounce "pace"?
Pronounced /ˈpætʃeɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pase, from Anglo-Norman pas, Old French pas, and their source, Latin passus. Doublet of pas and fathom; compare also pass. Cognate with Spanish pasear.
Etymology 2
From Latin pāce (“in peace”), ablative form of pāx (“peace”).
Etymology 3
Alteration of archaic Pasch.