speed

1 W1, S2 /spi:d/ noun

1 OF MOVEMENT (C, U) how fast something moves or travels: What speed are we doing? | Police are advising motorists to reduce speed. | pick up/gather speed (=gradually start to travel faster): Once outside the station, the train began to pick up speed. | a speed of 60 mph/80 kph etc: a truck traveling at a speed of 50 mph | at top/full speed (=as fast as possible): Forster was bundled into a waiting car and driven away at top speed. | at high/low speed (=very fast or very slow): a metal disc revolving at high speed | at breakneck speed (=dangerously fast) | at speed formal (=fast): The bus was already travelling at speed.

2 OF ACTION (U) the rate at which something happens or is done: Everyone was surprised by the speed of events. | with speed formal (=quickly): The government acted with speed and efficiency. | reading/operating speed (=the speed at which a person reads or a machine operates)

3 PHOTOGRAPHY (C)

a) the degree to which photographic film is sensitive to light

b) the time it takes for a camera shutter (2) to open and close: a shutter speed of 1/250 second

4 DRUG (U) slang an illegal drug that makes you very active; amphetamine

5 five-speed/ten-speed etc having five etc gears (gear1 (1)): a five-speed gearbox

2 verb past sped also speeded

1 (intransitive always+ adv/prep) to go quickly

(+ along/by/off etc): The robbers sped off in their getaway car.

2 (transitive always+ adv/prep) take someone or something somewhere very quickly: speed sb to/away/back etc: Security guards sped her to a waiting helicopter.

3 be speeding to be driving faster than the legal limit: I got caught speeding on Route 40 yesterday.

speed by phrasal verb (I) if time speeds by, it seems to pass very quickly: The weeks sped by and soon it was time to go back to school. speed up phrasal verb (I, T) to move or happen faster or make something move or happen faster: We'd better speed up if we want to be on time. | speed sth up: The new system will speed up the registration process.