speeds

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of speed.

   Engineers tested the engine at several rotation speeds.

   Download speeds vary widely depending on network congestion.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable uses of speed, where separate rates or settings can be lined up and counted. Examples include a bike with twelve speeds, an engine tested at several speeds, and a photographer's range of film or shutter speeds. When the word means sheer quickness, as in a burst of speed, it normally stays singular and resists the plural.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of speed.

   The courier speeds through downtown traffic to make each delivery on time.

   A fresh coat of wax speeds the sled along the icy track.

   Note

   One spelling carries several verbs at once. Without an object it means going fast or, on the road, breaking the limit (he speeds like a demon). With an object it hurries something along (wax speeds the sled). The older meanings of prospering or granting fortune are archaic, and being high on amphetamines is slang, so in ordinary prose the form almost always means motion or acceleration.

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