paces

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pace.

   The soldiers halted just thirty paces from the gate.

   He counted his paces along the dark corridor to find the door.

   Note

   Where steps get counted: thirty paces, ten paces off. A pace can mean one step or sometimes two, so a distance given in paces is usually an estimate unless a set measure is meant. Riders also speak of a horse's paces, meaning its gaits. The same spelling serves the verb's present form. A number in front of it tells you it is the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of pace.

   She paces the waiting room while the doctors finish the surgery.

   The expectant father paces nervously outside the delivery ward.

   Note

   A form that works with or without an object. Used alone, it describes restless walking back and forth (he paces nervously). With a place as its object, it describes covering that same ground (she paces the waiting room). Other objects shift the meaning: a runner who paces a race sets its speed, and someone who paces a distance measures it on foot.

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