speed limit

American  

noun

• speed limits
  plural

1. the maximum speed at which a vehicle is legally permitted to travel, as within a specific area, on a certain road, or under given conditions.

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speed limit British  

noun

1. the maximum permitted speed at which a vehicle may travel on certain roads

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• speed limits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of speed limit

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

speed limit

During the high-profile hit-and-run trial of Rebecca Grossman, a California Highway Patrol officer testified that he stopped her for speeding and warned her that driving above the speed limit could have fatal consequences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

The researchers say the current speed limit comes from the laser pulses used to operate the system, not from the fundamental properties of the meta-material itself.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

But the company’s complex governance, with the billionaire Porsche-Piëch family vying for control with politicians and Europe’s most powerful union, puts a speed limit on change in an industry that is moving fast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Warwickshire County Council added a one-way system, lowered the speed limit and implemented a protected turning lane at the Ingon Lane junction.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

We get bogged down in traffic for several miles, and even though Radar is desperate to violate the speed limit, he’s lucky when he can go thirty.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green