What does "speed" mean?
The state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion.
Speed
/spiːd/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion.
- Grammar: speed is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: velocity, abruptness, accelerate, accelerate.
- Useful contrasts: bureaucratic chaos, prolonged stoppage, swedish lags.
- Usage evidence: We should observe the speed limit.
How to use "speed"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "speed" 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 "speed" 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 "speed" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "speed" 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 "speed" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang 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 "velocity" 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 "speed", 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 The state of moving quickly or the capacity for rapid motion. countable, uncountable
"How does Usain Bolt run at that speed?"
- 2 changing location rapidly wordnet
- 3 The rate of motion or action, specifically the magnitude of the velocity; the rate distance is traversed in a given time. countable, uncountable
"Speed limits provide information to the drivers about the safe speed to travel in average conditions."
- 4 a central nervous system stimulant that increases energy and decreases appetite; used to treat narcolepsy and some forms of depression wordnet
- 5 The sensitivity to light of film, plates or sensor. countable, uncountable
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens wordnet
- 7 The duration of exposure, the time during which a camera shutter is open (shutter speed). countable, uncountable
- 8 the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of a (camera) lens system wordnet
- 9 The largest size of the lens opening at which a lens can be used. countable, uncountable
- 10 distance travelled per unit time wordnet
- 11 The ratio of the focal length to the diameter of a photographic objective. countable, uncountable
- 12 Amphetamine or any amphetamine-based drug (especially methamphetamine) used as a stimulant, especially illegally. slang, uncountable
"I don’t even like speed. It’s alright if ya wanna stay awake for three days an’ clean yer room, but I’m terrible on no sleep. It just makes me anxious."
- 13 Luck, success, prosperity. archaic, countable, uncountable
"St. Francis be my ſpeed, how oft to night / Haue my old feet ſtumbled at graues?"
- 14 Personal preference. countable, slang, uncountable
"We could go to the shore next week, or somewhere else if that's not your speed."
- 15 A third-order measure of derivative price sensitivity, expressed as the rate of change of gamma with respect to changes in the underlying asset price. uncountable
Verb
- 1 To succeed; to prosper, be lucky. archaic, intransitive
"And yf I maye fynde suche a knyghte that hath all these vertues / he may drawe oute this swerd oute of the shethe / for I haue ben at kyng Ryons / it was told me ther were passyng good knyghtes / and he and alle his knyghtes haue assayed it and none can spede"
- 2 move faster wordnet
- 3 To help someone, to give them fortune; to aid or favour. archaic, transitive
"God speed, until we meet again."
- 4 cause to move faster wordnet
- 5 To go fast. intransitive
"The Ferrari was speeding along the road."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 move very fast wordnet
- 7 To exceed the speed limit. intransitive
"Why do you speed when the road is so icy?"
- 8 travel at an excessive or illegal velocity wordnet
- 9 To increase the rate at which something occurs. transitive
"It is possible that the uterine contractions speed the sperm along."
- 10 move hurridly wordnet
- 11 To be under the influence of stimulant drugs, especially amphetamines. intransitive, slang
"Jackie is just speeding away / Thought she was James Dean for a day"
- 12 To be expedient. obsolete
- 13 To hurry to destruction; to put an end to; to ruin. archaic
"infected with the fashions, full of wingdalls, sped with spavins, rayed with yellows"
- 14 To wish success or good fortune to, in any undertaking, especially in setting out upon a journey. archaic
"Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest."
- 15 To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to drive at full speed; hence, to hasten; to hurry.
"He sped him thence, home to his habitation."
- 16 To hasten to a conclusion; to expedite.
"Judicial acts[…]are sped in open court at the instance of one or both of the parties."
Intj
- 1 Called by the soundman when the recording equipment has reached running speed and is ready to go.
"“Speed,” Carlos, the soundman, said. […] “Camera.” “Rolling,” replied Bryce, the cameraman."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Silver Creek Township, Clark County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
- 3 A place in the United States:; A minor city in Phillips County, Kansas. countable, uncountable
- 4 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Palestine Township, Cooper County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
- 5 A place in the United States:; A town in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Roane County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
- 7 A town in the Shire of Yarriambiack, Victoria, Australia. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
bureaucratic chaosprolonged stoppageswedish lagstemporary immobilities
Example
"We should observe the speed limit."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "speed"?
Common synonyms include: velocity, abruptness, accelerate, accelerate, accelerate, accelerated pace.
How do you use "speed" in a sentence?
We should observe the speed limit.
How do you pronounce "speed"?
Pronounced /spiːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sped (“prosperity, good luck, quickness, success”), from Old English spēd (“success”), from Proto-West Germanic *spōdi (“prosperity, success”), from Proto-West Germanic *spōan, from Proto-Germanic *spōaną (“to prosper, succeed, be happy”), from Proto-Indo-European *speh₁- (“to prosper, turn out well”). Cognate with Scots spede, speid (“success, quickness, speed”), Dutch spoed (“haste; speed”), German Low German Spood (“haste; speed; eagerness; success”), German Sput (“progress, acceleration, haste”). Related also to Old English spōwan (“to be successful, succeed”), Albanian shpejt (“to speed, to hurry”) and Russian спеши́ть (spešítʹ, “to hurry”), Latin spēs (“hope, expectation”), spērō (“hope”, verb), perhaps also to Ancient Greek σπεύδω (speúdō, “to urge on, hasten, press on”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English speden, from Old English spēdan (“to speed, prosper, succeed, have success”), from Proto-West Germanic *spōdijan (“to succeed”). Cognate with Scots spede, speid (“to meet with success, assist, promote, accomplish, speed”), Dutch spoeden (“to hurry, rush”), Low German spoden, spöden (“to hasten, speed”), German sputen, spuden (“to speed”).
Etymology 3
* As an English surname, from Middle English sped (“good fortune”, literally “assistance, aid”). Also from the noun speed. * As an Irish surname, translated from Ó Fuada, from fuad (“haste, hurriedness”). See Foody. * As a German and Jewish surname, Americanized and translated from Schnell. * Most place names seem to taken from the surname.