Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🐎 A racehorse 🏃 A speed setter
pacer

pacer

1 8.3
A horse used in harness racing that moves in a two-step rhythm and often leads the race
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪsər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : caballo de paso
  • The 2-year-old gelding pacer, owned by Illinois-based Desyllas Racing, William Beck, and Carol Rieken, has won six of 14 races with three second-place finishes.

Examples

  • ♪♪♪ ♪ WouId you rather ride a pacer UncIe Joe, UncIe Joe ♪ ♪ WouId you rather ride a pacer UncIe Joe?

    Forgiven (2011)

  • Fresh from her last start victory at 'The Park' on November 2, Realatthetime has drawn the ace in the $13,000 pace for one-to-three-win pacers.

    Blog text (22)

  • I breed trotters and pacers.

    Irma la Douce (1963)

  • We can see perhaps that that's adding extra protection, but, essentially, as far as the experts have explained to us, the only reason that car is there is to project the laser pacer.

    Kipchoge: The Last Milestone (2021)

  • "Descendants included" such great pacers as Adios, Meadow Skipper, Good Time, and Albatross.

    Academic text (2013)

  • ♪♪♪ ♪ WouId you rather ride a pacer UncIe Joe, UncIe Joe ♪ ♪ WouId you rather ride a pacer UncIe Joe?

    Forgiven (2011)

  • The skilled pacer led the pack during the harness race, maintaining a steady rhythm for the other horses to follow.

  • She watched as the pacer effortlessly maintained its gait, setting a challenging speed for the competitors behind.

  • In the state championship, the talented pacer set a blistering pace that others struggled to keep up with.

Synonyms

racer
vspacer
2 2.0

An animal like a horse or dog that runs in competitions to see who is fastest

is used specifically to set race speed and has a distinct gait
pacemaker
vspacer
  • Jargon
1 8.3

A horse that sets a fast pace to help another horse win

is used in harness racing and not entered mainly to assist others
pacesetter
vspacer
  • Jargon
7.5

A horse that runs first to make the race go faster

is used in harness racing and moves with a distinct gait

Antonyms

laggard
4 8.1

A person or thing that is slower than others and falls behind

Surface Forms

pacer singular
pacers plural

Morphology

pacer = pace (semi-transparent) = pace + er

The word is clearly built from 'pace' + '-er', but the horse-racing sense is somewhat specialized rather than a fully general agent noun.

Etymology

Pacer comes from the word pace, which means 'step' or 'speed', plus the ending -er meaning 'one who does'. So in harness racing a pacer is a horse that sets the stepping rhythm and the speed for the others.