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 technology is extraordinarily complex, and it is moving at a lightning pace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Rock initially kept pace with the world number one as the players traded breaks to reach 5-5.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The pace of earnings reports is heating up.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
The pace of reconstruction will "be a decisive factor in shaping the country's economic recovery and social outcomes," the World Bank said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
She picks up the pace, and we continue to weave round the streets of Amsterdam, ducking into the shadows, zigzagging across the city to avoid being stopped by the police or soldiers.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
One company betting on that shift is InnovAge, which participates in PACE, a federal program designed to keep frail seniors in their communities rather than in institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
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
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
He was trying to land it four paces short of the pin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
After you take a few more paces down the hill, the whole shebang comes into view.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
You can hear their hearts beating from a thousand paces.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
He trotted a few paces, took a long sniff, and waited for them to join him.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The ascent of a towering Aleppo pine — not one of the trees slated for removal — was a quiet and slowly paced piece de la resistance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Once Wrobleski’s job was done, he paced in the dugout, interrupted once in a while by a hug or handshakes from a teammate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 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
There he paced the salons and galleries of the newest neoclassical townhouses, there he studied the remains of classical antiquity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Dodger paced in a tight circle, and Akira turned frantically in her seat to watch as the wildfire roared up through the trees behind them.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Because proven therapies remain scarce, most medical recommendations focus on supportive strategies, including activity pacing and management of individual symptoms.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
The British Columbia Hotel Association says that while final booking figures are yet to be confirmed, June and July were "pacing well behind previous years", despite Vancouver hosting seven of the games in Canada.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 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
Shares are pacing towards their worst start to a year since the dot-com crash.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Her face looked worn out, but she was tense and pacing like a turkey before Christmas dinner.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.