pace
41
5.2
- noun
- /peɪs/
- Archaic
:
paso
- The ratio is the length of the human pace to the human foot.
The ratio is the length of the human pace to the human foot.
- The ratio is the length of the human pace to the human foot.
Examples
-
Three paces south.
-
Drop the weapon and step away about five to ten paces.
-
It's just 23 paces behind you.
-
Between here and that old car outside are 25 paces.
-
Ninety-seven paces to the shower room.
-
As he searched for a bench, he saw a woman walking some twenty paces in front of him.
Fiction book (1991) -
On my command each contestant will take 20 paces.
-
The circular prison was ten or twelve paces across in the center, with walls about fifteen feet high.
Fiction book (1992) -
The lantern light would not be visible at all in here, twenty or thirty paces from its edge.
Fiction book (1992) -
He counted the distance and said it was just 20 paces to the finish line.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A unit of length equal to three feet used to measure distance
Idioms
Compounds
- Informal
18
3.2
An activity that is different from your normal routine to give you a pleasant break
- Jargon
1
7.2
The first time cars go around the track in a race when drivers go slowly to prepare for the start
- Specialized
A baseball pitch thrown much slower than expected to surprise a batter
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pace comes from the Latin passus meaning 'step', and people often used the length of a step as a measure. So a traditional pace became a unit of distance based on a stride (about 3 feet), which is why the word names that length.