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.
The United States on Tuesday said it plans to exempt its private space sector from numerous environmental regulations to accelerate the pace of space launches and ramp up competition with China.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Alonso made it out of first qualifying for the first time this year, and the race pace was strong.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Most software companies are expected to show a slowing pace of sales growth over the next two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But they’re also being shut down at a record pace.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Doesn’t change the freak status,” I muttered as I hurried down the hall, but Elliot just sped up to keep pace with me.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
Losing the PACE, the analytics center, would also be a mistake, said Michael Horowitz, head of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 20, 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
"As expected, we didn't detect gamma rays from Mars, but we put the instrument through its paces, and it performed excellently."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
A chatbot can fool an adult anytime but a toddler could spot a fake at 50 paces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
There’s love for the people he works with, and there’s love for the paces he’s gone through, but I didn’t know.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
But to really put it through its paces, it requires testing in space-like conditions on parabolic flights.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
He heard the soft, sad bubbling of the stream thirty paces away.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The pair crossed the line together with their arms around each other's shoulders after Pogacar paced a suffering Del Toro up the final climb.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
The briskly paced film is equally entertaining while recounting her wild adventures of yore and while following her around Manhattan and Fire Island today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Deftly paced, “I Am Not a Designer” echoes Noguchi’s balance of mystery, theatricality, playfulness and restraint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Ironically it’s the Spurs—with their young lineup paced by the 22-year-old “alien” Wembanyama—installed as the “fun” option to the Same Old Thunder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
I slipped on the tennis shoes and paced around the kitchen.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Meta stock rose 10% to $621.40, pacing toward its largest single-day jump since January, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Watching that Rosetta Stone-cold stupid footage here, you’re struck not only by his audacity, but by the scene’s excruciating comic pacing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The 39-year-old American was pacing a mile group at a Sir Walter Miler pop-up event on Tuesday when she reportedly collapsed and needed CPR.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
During filming, Blunt would wake up at 6 a.m. to voice notes and thoughts Spielberg had while pacing around in the middle of the night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
When I arrive at my house, my mom is pacing up and down the hallway, thinking out loud about all the things we need for the trip.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
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.
