Pace Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

Britannica Dictionary definition of PACE

1

[singular]

a

:

the speed at which someone or something moves

• He can run at a decent pace. [=he can run fairly fast]
• We walked at a leisurely pace along the shore.
• I told the kids to pick/step up the pace. [=go faster]
• He rode his bike up the hill at a snail's pace. [=very slowly]
• We encourage you to hike the trail at your own pace. [=at a speed that suits you and lets you be comfortable]

b

:

the speed at which something happens

• The pace of the story was slow.
• His new album is selling at a blistering/breakneck/dizzying pace.
• Despite quickly advancing medical technology, the pace [=(more commonly) _rate_] of change in her field remained slow and steady.
• She liked the fast pace of life in the city. [=she liked the fast way things happened in the city]

— see also change of pace

2

[count]

:

a single step or the length of a single step

— usually plural

• The tree is about 30 paces from the front door.
• The dog walked a few paces behind us.

go through your paces

:

to do something in order to show others how well you do it

• The athletes went through their paces as the coaches looked on.
• a show horse going through its paces for the judges

keep pace with

:

to go or make progress at the same speed as (someone or something else)

• Our production can't keep pace with [=_keep up with_] the orders coming in.
• The law has not kept pace with technology. [=the law has not changed fast enough to reflect changes in technology]
• She struggles to keep pace with her classmates.

:

behind in a race, competition, etc.

• The winner finished in 4 minutes, 30 seconds, and the next runner was three seconds off the pace. [=finished three seconds later]
• The other runners were way off the pace.

put someone or something through his/her/its paces

:

to test what someone or something can do

• We brought home three different computers and put them through their paces.

set the pace

:

to be the one that is at the front in a race and that controls how fast the other racers have to go

• As our fastest runner, he usually sets the pace for the rest of the team.

— often used figuratively

• The company's advanced equipment sets the pace for the recording industry.

— see also pacesetter

Britannica Dictionary definition of PACE

1

:

to walk back and forth across the same space again and again especially because you are nervous

[+ object]

• He paced the floor/room.

[no object]

• When she gets nervous she paces back and forth.
• He was pacing and muttering to himself.

2

[+ object]

:

to control or set the speed of (someone or something)

• She paced the other runners for the first half of the race.
• Advertisements are paced so that they are shown more often during peak sales seasons.

— see also outpace

pace (something) off

or

pace off (something)

:

to measure (something) by walking and counting the number of steps you take

• The new garden is 25 feet long. I paced it off.
• Pace off 20 feet.

pace yourself

:

to do something at a speed that is steady and that allows you to continue without becoming too tired

• If you don't pace yourself, you'll wear yourself out.

• He quickly learned he would need to pace himself so he could get all of his work done.

• a moderately paced stroll

• a frenetically paced comedy

• a well-paced meal

• fast-paced music

• Her continuous pacing was making me anxious.

• The pacing of the movie was all wrong. [=the events in the movie happened too quickly or slowly]