average speed
Americannoun
Usage
What is average speed? Average speed is calculated by dividing the total distance that something has traveled by the total amount of time it took it to travel that distance. Speed is how fast something is going at a particular moment. Average speed measures the average rate of speed over the extent of a trip. Average speed is usually applied to vehicles like cars, trains, and airplanes. It is often measured in miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (kph). Average speed is used in all kinds of fields, including physics, astronomy, and transportation.
Etymology
Origin of average speed
First recorded in 1820–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The peloton completed stage 11 at an average speed of 50.9km per hour, beating the previous record of 50.3kph from 1999.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The average speed of the modern industrial shipping vessel has declined in recent decades, but fuel efficiency has gone up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
"I was scared out of my wits," said Austria's long-retired Fritz Strobl of his record-setting Kitzbuehel descent in 1min 51.58sec in 1997 -- his average speed was an astonishing 106.9km/h.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
The report’s conclusion relies on the average speed of answer, which includes callbacks so that callers are not actively waiting on the phone.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025
The average speed of trains was fifteen to twenty miles per hour.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
