Showing results for "pacing"

• present participle of pace.

pacing

American  

[pey-sing] / ˈpeɪ sɪŋ /

noun

pacings plural

1. the act or result of setting the rate of movement or progress, as of a story, movie, lesson, etc..

   The pacing of a video presentation must be appropriate; too slow is just as common (and as bad) as too fast.

2. the act of walking back and forth, as to expend nervous energy.

   For several minutes after she entered, he continued his restless pacing to and fro as if unaware of her presence.

3. the act of walking with slow, regular steps.

   Above my head, at intervals, I heard the pacing of the sentry upon the roof.

4. the act or process of measuring something by counting the steps taken to walk its length at a normal stride.

   Though surveyors find it a quick and easy way to measure distance in the field, accurate pacing can only be accomplished by practice.

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adjective

1. walking back and forth, as to expend nervous energy.

   I tried to focus my attention on anything but the rapidly pacing detective, who was deep in thought.

2. walking with slow, regular steps.

   Seeing the pacing security guard in front of the sliding doors, she looked around quickly for another way out.

3. (of a horse or other animal) moving in such a way that the feet on the same side are lifted and put down together.

   A pacing horse will swing its head from side to side as opposed to up and down.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pacings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pacing

First recorded in 1450–1500; pac(e) ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; pac(e) ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pacing pacings

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

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

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

But there was Aunt Kitty, pacing the wooden floors like a nervous cat and mumbling to herself.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Much of Mr. Roberts’s movement for that quartet of dancers, despite some upper-body torsioning and unison pacings, presents repeated articulations for their arms, suggesting the flapping of wings, which grows monotonous.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

The rising United Kingdom-based bandleader Nala Sinephro plays harp and electronics, with a pull toward weightless sounds and meditative pacings, so comparisons to Alice Coltrane are inevitable.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021

In the 20th century, technology made it ever easier to regulate the production of sound, with electronic music allowing for perfectly even pacings.

From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2017

Once, in the midst of his pacings, he fell right off his platform.

From Time Magazine Archive

Her pacings had brought her to the extreme end of the platform where it sloped to the level of the track.

From The History of Sir Richard Calmady A Romance by Malet, Lucas