pace (1) — ODE

pace1 /peɪs

▸ noun

1 a single step taken when walking or running:

Kirov stepped back a pace.

▪ a unit of length representing the distance between two successive steps in walking:

her eyes could size up a lad's wallet at fifty paces.

▪ a gait of a horse or other animal, especially one of the recognized trained gaits of a horse.

▪ [mass noun] literary a person's manner of walking or running:

I steal with quiet pace.

2 [mass noun] speed in walking, running, or moving:

most traffic moved at the pace of the riverboat

he's an aggressive player with plenty of pace

[in singular] the ring road allows traffic to flow at a remarkably fast pace.

▪ the speed or rate at which something happens or develops:

the industrial boom gathered pace

[in singular] the story rips along at a cracking pace.

▪ Cricket the state of a wicket as affecting the speed of the ball:

he can cope with the pace of the Australian wickets.

▸ verb

1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] walk at a steady speed, especially without a particular destination and as an expression of anxiety or annoyance:

we paced up and down in exasperation

[with object] she had been pacing the room.

▪ [with object] measure (a distance) by walking it and counting the number of steps taken:

I paced out the dimensions of my new home.

▪ [no object] (of a trained horse) move in a distinctive lateral gait in which both legs on the same side are lifted together:

he will suddenly pace for a few steps, then go back into normal walk.

2 [with object and adverbial] move or develop (something) at a particular rate or speed:

the action is paced to the beat of a perky march

(-paced as adjective, in combination) our fast-paced daily lives.

▪ lead (another runner in a race) in order to establish a competitive speed:

McKenna paced us for four miles.

▪ (pace oneself) do something at a slow and steady rate in order to avoid overexertion:

Frank was pacing himself for the long night ahead.

– PHRASES

at pace British English
quickly:

the transformation of our business continues at pace

both sides play at pace and love to attack down the flanks.

change of pace mainly North American English
a change from what one is used to:

the magenta is a change of pace from traditional red.

keep pace with /ˌkiːp ˈpeɪs wɪð

/
move or progress at the same speed or rate as:

fees have been raised to keep pace with inflation.

last the pace (also stay the pace or stand the pace) mainly British English
be able to keep up with another or others:

a sprinter will never last the pace with a distance man.

off the pace
behind the leader or leading group in a race or contest:

Duncan was two seconds off the pace

he was well off the pace when it came to team politics figurative.

put someone or something through their paces
make someone or something demonstrate their abilities:

military musicians put would-be bandsmen through their paces.

set the pace
be the fastest runner in the early part of a race:

Nolan set the pace over the cross-country course.

▪
lead the way in doing something:

space movies have set the pace for the development of special effects.

– ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French pas, from Latin passus ‘stretch (of the leg)’, from pandere ‘to stretch’.