a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc..
To raise your heart rate, walk at a brisk pace of five miles an hour.
a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc.; tempo.
The pace of the building's construction had slowed almost to a halt.
any of various standard linear measures, representing the space naturally measured by the movement of the feet in walking: roughly 30 to 40 inches (75 centimeters to 1 meter).
a single step.
She took three paces in the direction of the door.
the distance covered in a step.
Stand six paces inside the gates.
a manner of stepping; gait.
a gait of a horse or other animal in which the feet on the same side are lifted and put down together.
any of the gaits of a horse.
a raised step or platform.
to set the rate of movement for, as in racing.
to traverse or go over with steps.
He paced the floor nervously.
to measure by steps or by any of various standard linear measures representing the space naturally measured by the movement of the feet in walking.
to train to a certain pace; exercise in pacing.
to pace a horse.
(of a horse) to run (a distance) at a pace.
Hanover II paced a mile.
set the pace, to act as an example for others to equal or rival; be the most progressive or successful.
an agency that sets the pace in advertising.
put through one's paces, to cause someone to demonstrate their ability or to show their skill.
The French teacher put her students through their paces for the visitors.
a single step in walking
the distance covered by a step
a measure of length equal to the average length of a stride, approximately 3 feet See also Roman pace geometric pace military pace
speed of movement, esp of walking or running
rate or style of proceeding at some activity
to live at a fast pace
manner or action of stepping, walking, etc; gait
any of the manners in which a horse or other quadruped walks or runs, the three principal paces being the walk, trot, and canter (or gallop)
a manner of moving, natural to the camel and sometimes developed in the horse, in which the two legs on the same side of the body are moved and put down at the same time
architect a step or small raised platform
to proceed at the same speed as
to test the ability of someone
to determine the rate at which a group runs or walks or proceeds at some other activity
to keep up with the speed or rate of others
(tr) to set or determine the pace for, as in a race
to walk with regular slow or fast paces, as in boredom, agitation, etc
to pace the room
to measure by paces
to pace out the distance
(intr) to walk with slow regular strides
to pace along the street
(intr) (of a horse) to move at the pace (the specially developed gait)
Pace, plod, trudge refer to a steady and monotonous kind of walking. Pace suggests steady, measured steps as of one completely lost in thought or impelled by some distraction: to pace up and down. Plod implies a slow, heavy, laborious, weary walk: The mailman plods his weary way. Trudge implies a spiritless but usually steady and doggedly persistent walk: The farmer trudged to his village to buy his supplies.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pas, from Old French, from Latin passus “step, pace,” equivalent to pad-, variant stem of pandere “to spread (the legs, in walking)” + -tus suffix of verbal action, with dt becoming ss
First recorded in 1860–65; from Latin pāce “in peace, by favor” (ablative singular of pāx “favor, pardon, grace, peace ”
Pace is how fast something travels a particular distance, like a runner who tries to achieve a consistent pace, running each mile in more or less the same amount of time. Pace comes from the Latin word passus, meaning “a step.” Pace is a noun, meaning "the speed at which something happens." Some say city life has a faster pace because everyone hurries and there are so many exciting things to do. Pace is also a verb — if you pace yourself, you’ll have enough energy to experience all of that city's sights, from the rush of rush hour to the late-night party scene.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
David Lammy, then deputy prime minister, said marriage laws in England and Wales had "not kept pace with the social and cultural changes that have shaped modern Britain".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
At 6ft 4in, Lacroix combines aerial strength with exceptional recovery pace.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Also, the pace of the BOJ’s tightening has been extremely gradual, Suzuki adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Alonso's time is a significant step forward from the four-second margin that has generally separated Aston Martin from the pace so far this season.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
So, in order to avoid tendinitis in my pinky, shoulder pain, back pain, and myriad other things, I have to pace myself.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Around 140 people show up to collect groceries on a typical Thursday evening and roughly 90% have jobs, said Jennifer Medeiros, food program coordinator at the nonprofit PACE, which runs the pantry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
This compares with 16% in 2018-19, according to state data analyzed by the nonpartisan research center PACE.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
“Every movement is individual,” said Melinda Metzger, executive director at PACE, a bus system in the Chicago area that teamed with Via this summer for the O’Hare pickup service.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
The group called PACE, which stands for Practical Actions for Climate and the Environment, organises litter picks with reusable sacks and has planted 300 trees in a community orchard.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2022
The scene of the IN PACE, for example, in spite of its strength, verges dangerously on the province of the penny novelist.
From Familiar Studies of Men and Books by Stevenson, Robert Louis
He was trying to land it four paces short of the pin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
There was sun cream, tan-lines and ice buckets as the players were put through their paces before their final warm-up win over Bolivia in New York.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
HEFEI, China—In a giant testing lab filled with huge spikes, Volkswagen VOW3 -1.37%decrease; red down pointing triangle is putting one of the new cars it has designed especially for China through its paces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
After you take a few more paces down the hill, the whole shebang comes into view.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
They had not gone ten paces before the entire slope, weakened by the downpour, collapsed with a loud roar.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
The ascent of a towering Aleppo pine — not one of the trees slated for removal — was a quiet and slowly paced piece de la resistance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
There he paced the salons and galleries of the newest neoclassical townhouses, there he studied the remains of classical antiquity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Robinhood said revenue rose 15% to $1.07 billion, paced by a 32% jump from its Robinhood Gold program, a monthly subscription that offers perks such as higher interest on uninvested brokerage cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
At this point, YouTube is basically TV, and Coachella plays like one of its biggest annual broadcasts, programmed, paced and consumed accordingly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
On New Year’s Eve morning, Ella paced in front of the family conjure room while Brigit was still asleep, trying to drum up enough confidence to interrupt her mother’s sunrise work.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Because proven therapies remain scarce, most medical recommendations focus on supportive strategies, including activity pacing and management of individual symptoms.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
The British Columbia Hotel Association says that while final booking figures are yet to be confirmed, June and July were "pacing well behind previous years", despite Vancouver hosting seven of the games in Canada.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
How did you approach pacing your performance in the confines of a single day at work?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
U.S. stocks closed higher with the AI trade again pacing the advance as investors returned from the Independence Day holiday weekend in an upbeat mood,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I stopped my pacing to peer at her.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
