rapidity in moving, going, traveling, proceeding, or performing; swiftness; celerity: the speed of light; the speed of sound.
2.
relative rapidity in moving, going, etc.; rate of motion or progress: full speed ahead.
3.
full, maximum, or optimum rate of motion: The car gets to speed in just nine seconds.
4.
Automotive. a transmission gear ratio.
5.
Photography.
a.
Also called film speed.the sensitivity of a film or paper to light, measured by an ASA or DIN index, which assigns low numbers to slow film and higher numbers to faster film.
b.
Also called shutter speed.the length of time a shutter is opened to expose film.
c.
the largest opening at which a lens can be used.
6.
Slang. a stimulating drug, as caffeine, ephedrine, or esp. methamphetamine or amphetamine.
7.
Informal. a person or thing that is compatible with or typical of one's ability, personality, desires, etc.: My speed is writing postcards on the porch while everyone else is tearing around the tennis court.
8.
Archaic. success or prosperity.
–verb (used with object)
9.
to promote the success of (an affair, undertaking, etc.); further, forward, or expedite.
10.
to direct (the steps, course, way, etc.) with speed.
11.
to increase the rate of speed of (usually fol. by up): to speed up industrial production.
12.
to bring to a particular speed, as a machine.
13.
to cause to move, go, or proceed with speed.
14.
to expedite the going of: to speed the parting guest.
15.
Archaic. to cause to succeed or prosper.
–verb (used without object)
16.
to move, go, pass, or proceed with speed or rapidity.
17.
to drive a vehicle at a rate that exceeds the legally established maximum: He was arrested for speeding.
18.
to increase the rate of speed or progress (usually fol. by up).
19.
to get on or fare in a specified or particular manner.
20.
Archaic. to succeed or prosper.
—Idioms
21.
at full or top speed,
a.
at the greatest speed possible: We drove down the highway at full speed.
b.
to the maximum of one's capabilities; with great rapidity: He worked at full speed.
22.
up to speed,
a.
operating at full or optimum speed.
b.
functioning or producing at an expected, acceptable, or competitive level; up to par: a new firm not yet up to speed.
Origin: bef. 900; 1965–70 for def. 6;(n.) ME spede good luck, prosperity, rapidity, OE spēd; c. D spoed, OHG spōt; akin to OE spōwan to prosper, succeed; (v.) ME speden to succeed, prosper, go with speed, OE spēdan to succeed, prosper; c. OS spōdian, OHG spuoten
Related forms:
speedful, adjective
speed⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
speed⋅ful⋅ness, noun
speed⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
speed⋅ing⋅ness, noun
speedless, adjective
Synonyms: 1, 2.fleetness, alacrity, dispatch, expedition; hurry. Speed,velocity,quickness,rapidity,celerity,haste refer to swift or energetic movement or operation. Speed (originally prosperity or success) may apply to human or nonhuman activity and emphasizes the rate in time at which something travels or operates: the speed of light, of a lens, of an automobile, of thought. Velocity, a more learned or technical term, is sometimes interchangeable with speed: the velocity of light; it is commonly used to refer to high rates of speed, linear or circular: velocity of a projectile. Quickness, a native word, and rapidity, a synonym of Latin origin, suggest speed of movement or operation on a small or subordinate scale; quickness applies more to people (quickness of mind, of perception, of bodily movement), rapidity more to things, often in a technical or mechanical context: the rapidity of moving parts; a lens of great rapidity. Celerity, a somewhat literary synonym of Latin origin, refers usually to human movement or operation and emphasizes expedition, dispatch, or economy in an activity: the celerity of his response. Haste refers to the energetic activity of human beings under stress; it often suggests lack of opportunity for care or thought: to marry in haste; a report prepared in haste. 9.advance, favor. 11.accelerate. 16.See rush1.
sped (spěd) v. A past tense and a past participle of speed.
speed (spēd) n.
Physics The rate or a measure of the rate of motion, especially:
Distance traveled divided by the time of travel.
The limit of this quotient as the time of travel becomes vanishingly small; the first derivative of distance with respect to time.
The magnitude of a velocity.
The act of moving rapidly.
The state of being in rapid motion; rapidity.
A numerical expression of the sensitivity of a photographic film, plate, or paper to light.
The capacity of a lens to accumulate light at an appropriate aperture.
The length of time required or permitted for a camera shutter to open and admit light.
Swiftness of action.
The act of moving rapidly.
The state of being in rapid motion; rapidity.
A numerical expression of the sensitivity of a photographic film, plate, or paper to light.
The capacity of a lens to accumulate light at an appropriate aperture.
The length of time required or permitted for a camera shutter to open and admit light.
A transmission gear or set of gears in a motor vehicle.
A numerical expression of the sensitivity of a photographic film, plate, or paper to light.
The capacity of a lens to accumulate light at an appropriate aperture.
The length of time required or permitted for a camera shutter to open and admit light.
Slang A stimulant drug, especially amphetamine or methamphetamine.
Slang One that suits or appeals to a person's inclinations, skills, or character: Living in a large city is not my speed.
Archaic Prosperity; luck.
v.
sped (spěd) or speed·ed, speed·ing, speeds
v.
tr.
To cause to go, move, or proceed quickly; hasten.
To increase the speed or rate of; accelerate: speed up a car; sped production.
To wish Godspeed to.
To further, promote, or expedite (a legal action, for example).
Archaic To help to succeed or prosper; aid.
v.
intr.
To go, move, or proceed quickly: sped to the rescue.
To drive at a speed exceeding a legal limit: was speeding on the freeway.
To prove successful; prosper.
To get along in a specified manner; fare.
To pass quickly: The days sped by. The months have sped along.
To move, work, or happen at a faster rate; accelerate: His pulse speeded up.
Archaic
To prove successful; prosper.
To get along in a specified manner; fare.
[Middle English spede, from Old English spēd, success, swiftness; see spē- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to proceed or cause to proceed rapidly or more rapidly. Speed refers to swift motion or action: The train sped through the countryside. Postal workers labored overtime to speed delivery of the holiday mail. Hurry implies a markedly faster rate than usual, often with concomitant confusion or commotion: Hurry, or you'll miss the plane! Don't let anyone hurry you into making a decision. Hasten suggests urgency and often eager or rash swiftness: My doctor hastened to reassure me that the tests were negative. His off-color jokes only hastened his dismissal. Quicken and especially accelerate refer to increase in rate of activity, growth, or progress: The skater's breathing quickened as he neared the end of his routine. The runner quickened her pace as she drew near the finish line. The economic expansion has continued but is no longer accelerating. Heat greatly accelerates the deterioration of perishable foods. Precipitate implies causing something to happen abruptly or prematurely: Mention of the issue precipitated an angry outburst during the meeting. See Also Synonyms at haste.
Word History: We learn from the fable of the tortoise and the hare that the race is not always to the swift, but etymology teaches us that speed and success are closely related. The Old English word spēd, from which our word speed is descended, originally meant "prosperity, successful outcome, ability, or quickness." A corresponding verb, spēdan, in Modern English the verb speed, meant "to succeed, prosper, or achieve a goal"; and an adjective, spēdig, the ancestor of our word speedy, meant "wealthy, powerful." Except for archaic uses the words today relate only to the general sense of "velocity." The meaning "success" is retained chiefly in the compound Godspeed, a noun formed from the phrase meaning "May God cause you to prosper."
n. methamphetamine; amphetamine in general. (Drugs.) : Kids think that speed won't get them into trouble.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
speed (v.)
O.E. spedan "to succeed, prosper, advance" (see speed (n.)). Meaning "to go fast" is attested from c.1300. Meaning "To send forth with quickness" is first recorded 1569; that of "to increase the work rate of" (usually with up) is from 1856.
speed (spēd) Pronunciation Key
The ratio of the distance traveled by an object (regardless of its direction) to the time required to travel that distance. Compare velocity.
[speed] 
noun, verb, sped or speed⋅ed, speed⋅ing.
