pace

Pace is the rate at which something moves or progresses. In everyday use, pace describes speed of travel or the tempo of a task. In physics, pace is related to velocity and distance divided by time, and in everyday speech it can be roughly synonymous with speed or rate.

In running and walking, pace is commonly expressed as time per unit distance, such as minutes per kilometer or minutes per mile; conversely, speed can be expressed as kilometers per hour. Pacing strategies—even pace, negative splits, or positive splits—guide training and racing by matching energy expenditure to duration.

In music, pace or tempo refers to the speed of the beat. Terms like allegro and adagio convey qualitative pace, while metronome marks give exact values. Tempo changes such as accelerando or ritardando reflect pacing within a piece.

The word also appears in contexts such as pacing a project or production line, where the rate of work or output is managed to balance demand and resources. The phrase “pace of life” describes how quickly a culture or individual moves through activities.

Etymology: from Old French pas (step), from Latin passus. The noun pace originally referred to a step-based measure and evolved to denote speed or rate.