Paced

Paced is the past tense and past participle of pace. As a verb, pace means to walk at a steady, controlled speed or to regulate the tempo of something, such as a race or a task. To pace oneself means to maintain a sustainable rate to avoid fatigue.

In sports and daily life, pacing helps optimize performance and endurance. Athletes plan splits to maintain target paces; a marathon runner might pace to finish with energy for the final stretch. In project work or rehabilitation, a paced approach distributes effort evenly over time.

In arts and media, pacing refers to the speed of a narrative or performance. Well-paced writing, film, or game design balances action, exposition, and quiet moments to sustain interest.

In medicine, pacing is the use of a heart pacemaker to regulate rhythm. When a heart is paced, its beat is driven by an artificial impulse, and a paced rhythm describes the resulting rate. The term also appears in discussions of pacing strategies in therapy or rehabilitation.

Etymology: pace derives from Old French pace, from Latin passus meaning step. The past participle form paced has been used since Middle English to describe actions done at a set pace.