# speed

Pronunciation: US say "SPEED" /spiːd/; UK

## Noun

1. The rate at which something moves, measured as the distance covered over a given time.
   - Simple: How far something travels in a certain amount of time.
   - _At this speed, the journey will take about three hours._
   - _Engineers calculated the speed of the falling object._
2. The condition of moving fast, or the ability to move quickly.
   - Simple: How fast something moves, or how fast it can move.
   - _The train gathered speed as it left the station._
   - _Her speed on the track surprised everyone._
6. The length of time a camera's shutter stays open during a shot, controlling the exposure.
   - Simple: How long a camera lets in light to take a photo.
   - _She set a higher speed to freeze the bird in midair._
   - _At a shutter speed of two seconds, the passing cars became long streaks of light._
7. An amphetamine or similar stimulant drug, especially methamphetamine, used illegally to feel alert and energetic. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A drug that makes people feel very awake and energetic, often used illegally.
   - _She admitted to using speed to stay awake through her night shifts._
   - _Dealers cut the speed with cheaper powders to increase their profits._
8. A measure of how sensitive a film, plate, or sensor is to light.
   - Simple: How easily a camera's film or sensor reacts to light.
   - _For the dim concert she chose a film with a high speed._
   - _Lower speed film gives finer detail but needs more light._
9. The sort of thing, place, or activity that suits a person's taste or comfort. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The kind of thing someone likes or feels comfortable with.
   - _Extreme sports just aren't my speed; I prefer a calm hike._
   - _He found that small-town life was more his speed than the city._
11. The maximum aperture of a camera lens, usually given as its lowest f-number, showing how much light the lens can gather.
   - Simple: How wide a camera lens can open to let in light. A 'fast' lens opens very wide.
   - _A fast 50mm offers the speed needed for indoor portraits without flash._
   - _Telephoto lenses with high speed tend to be large, heavy, and expensive._

## Verb

3. To make a process or event happen more quickly.
   - Simple: To make something happen faster.
   - _These reforms will speed the approval of new medicines._
   - _Fertilizer can speed the ripening of the fruit._
4. To move or travel quickly, or to take or send someone or something somewhere quickly.
   - Simple: To move quickly, or to make someone or something move or travel quickly.
   - _Motorcycles speed past the old bridge all day long._
   - _The runners speed toward the finish line._
5. To drive faster than the legal speed limit.
   - Simple: To drive faster than the law allows.
   - _She got a ticket for speeding through town._
   - _Cars that speed past the school worry the parents._
10. To be high on stimulant drugs, particularly amphetamines. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To be high from drugs that make you feel very awake.
   - _After two lines of amphetamine, they would speed until sunrise, talking nonstop and never touching their food._
   - _She was speeding badly and paced the room for hours._

## Verb

12. To wish or grant success and good fortune to someone, especially someone setting out on a journey. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To wish someone luck or help them succeed, especially when they are leaving on a journey.
14. To succeed or prosper; to meet with good fortune in an undertaking. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To do well, succeed, and have good luck.
15. To hurry something toward destruction; to put an end to or ruin it. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To ruin something or bring it to a quick end.
16. To be expedient; to be advantageous or fitting given the circumstances. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To be useful or helpful in a situation.

## Noun

13. Good fortune, success, or prosperity, especially as wished for someone. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Good luck, success, or wealth that someone has or hopes for.

## Other meanings

- (interjection) Called out by the sound recordist to signal that the audio equipment has reached full running speed and is ready to record.
- (noun) A third-order measure of an option's price sensitivity, giving the rate at which gamma changes as the underlying asset's price moves.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 6–9, 11, 13** — The word comes from Old English spēd ("success"), which became Middle English sped, meaning prosperity, good luck, quickness or success. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *spōaną, a verb meaning to prosper, succeed or be happy, and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root *speh₁-, "to prosper, turn out well." Dutch spoed ("haste, speed") and German Sput are related, and perhaps Ancient Greek speúdō ("to hasten") as well.
**Meanings 3–5, 10, 12, 14–16** — Proto-West Germanic *spōdijan ("to succeed") gave Old English spēdan, meaning to succeed, prosper or speed, which became Middle English speden. Dutch spoeden ("to hurry, rush") and German sputen ("to speed") are cognates.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/speed (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).