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
While Ramsay-Peaty has not found his best form in Glasgow and looks unlikely to touch his best times again, it would be wrong to say he has lost his pace altogether.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
For clues on the timing and pace of future action, markets will closely examine the bank’s latest economic and inflation forecasts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It flipped from net buyer to net seller of foreign bonds in December 2025, and by February was selling them off at the fastest monthly pace since 2024.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
She took another breath and continued at a measured pace.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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
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
“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
In a poll commissioned last year by PACE, 46% of voters selected “don’t know” when asked about Thurmond’s performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 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
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
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
You can hear their hearts beating from a thousand paces.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
He hooked his fingers around a magic thread and walked with it a few paces away.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Mr. Day’s lushly orchestrated score, sweetly tonal throughout and full of harp riffs, is paced with a mellow sameness that even the frequent big climaxes can’t jolt into dramatic excitement or dangerous energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
She paced, she swayed, she laughed with displeasure.
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
Legally Blonde was "fun, fresh and brilliantly paced", she writes, but Elle is "dour, boring and tedious" despite its solid supporting cast, which includes James Van Der Beek in one of his final acting roles.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Mama pursed her lips and Papa paced, all while Gran hollered about bringing the food out before it got cold.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
How did you approach pacing your performance in the confines of a single day at work?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
She kept pacing nervously by the spot where her husband's voice was heard.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
Walking is low-cost and doesn't have to mean stopping work, he said, pointing to walking meetings or pacing during phone calls - whether outdoors or around the office.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Mr. Netravalkar is an engaging central figure and the pacing of the film is fairly brisk even though this viewer found the production values mixed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
I found myself pacing my tiny dorm room.
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.
