Speed | Mean of speed in English Dictionary

/ˈspiːd/

• Noun
• the rate at which someone or something moves or travels
1. The trucks gain/gather speed as they drive down the hill. = The trucks pick up speed as they drive down the hill. [=the trucks go faster as they drive down the hill]
2. This instrument measures wind speed.
3. He was running at full/top speed. [=as fast as possible]
4. The machine was operating at high/medium/low speed.
5. traveling at nearly the speed of light/sound
6. Under the right conditions the car can reach speeds over 200 miles an hour.
7. The vehicle maintained a speed of 40 miles per hour.
• the rate at which something happens or is done
1. The work was done with remarkable speed.
2. They ate their lunch at lightning speed. [=extremely quickly]
3. This computer works at a much faster processing speed than my old one.
4. He types at a speed of about 50 words per minute. = His typing speed is about 50 words per minute.
• the quality of being quick
1. The machine chops up tree branches and leaves with speed and ease.

• a measurement that indicates how quickly film reacts to light and that is expressed as a number (such as 100 or 200)
1. 200 speed film
• the time during which a camera's shutter is open
1. faster/slower shutter speeds
• a gear in a vehicle or bicycle
1. a three-speed bicycle
2. Her old car has four speeds.
• an illegal drug that makes a person feel more excited and full of energy
1. He was high on speed.
• very quickly
1. He ran at speed out of the room.
• having the latest information about something
1. Everyone here is up to speed.
2. Let me bring you up to speed on our plans. [=let me tell you about the changes in our plans]
3. It will take some time for the new secretary to get up to speed. [=to learn the job]
• Verb
• to move fast
1. A group of kids sped past us on their bikes.
2. They jumped in the car and sped/speeded away.
3. A car was speeding down/up the street.
• to move (someone or something) somewhere very quickly
1. An ambulance sped her to the hospital.
• to drive faster than the legal speed limit
1. I got pulled over twice last month because I was speeding on the highway.
2. Don't speed.
• to cause (an action, movement, process, etc.) to happen faster
1. We kept the plants under artificial lights at night to speed their growth.
2. Is there anything we can do to speed the process (along)?
• to become faster or to make (something or someone) faster
1. I hate it when cars speed up [=accelerate] while you're trying to pass them.
2. The work has been slow so far but it should speed up soon.
3. They add another chemical to the photo developer to speed up the process.
4. I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to speed things up.
5. They're working too slowly. How can we speed them up?