relative speed
- noun
- Specialized
:
velocidad relativa
- To calculate the relative speed of the airplane in the wind, we considered the wind's speed and direction.
You say, wait, first of all, are there absolute speeds at all or only relative speeds?
- You say, wait, first of all, are there absolute speeds at all or only relative speeds?
Examples
-
The belt adjusts to the new speed, which causes the plane's relative speed to increase, and this repeats over and over with the plane moving forward and the friction on the plane's axles increasing infinitely as the speed of the belt increases.
Blog text (1) -
And the relative speed up is how much faster it is than the previous row.
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If there's any relative speed we measure their clock to be running slowly.
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That isn't sufficient to constrain the jet force to be greater than friction for relative speeds of belt and plane greater than takeoff speed.
Blog text (1) -
The introduction of wide-body (jumbo jets) in the early 1970s was the real game changer as they reduced seat/mile costs so significantly while still offering the advantage of relative speed (600 mph) and comfort.
Blog text (1) -
When two trains travel towards each other, their relative speed is the sum of their individual speeds.
-
As the car approached the stationary object, the relative speed between them increased significantly.
How Fast
20
3.7
5
5.7
- Specialized
17
2.3
35
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the speed of one object as measured in relation to another' is directly and compositionally derived from 'relative' (in relation to something) combined with 'speed' (how fast something moves). This is a regular, literal noun–modifier composition found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Relative speed comes from a simple image of comparing movement: relative (one thing compared with another) and speed (how fast it goes). Imagine two cars moving side by side — one car may seem fast alone but slow 'relative' to the other, so the phrase means 'the speed of one object as seen from another'.