speed limit
60
1.0
- noun
- /spiːd ˈlɪmɪt/
:
límite de velocidad
- For example, if we made the speed limit one mile per hour for everyone everywhere, there would be less deaths on the road each year.
- highway speed limit
- posted speed limits
- 65 mph speed limit
And no, there is no speed limit on that thing.
- And no, there is no speed limit on that thing.
- Maybe the speed limits are strictly enforced, right?
- Let's talk about how we can change things like by having speed limits and seat bags, seatbelts and airbags.
- Every day I speed past the speed limit.
- But but let's just, you know, let's go slow, drive at the speed limit.
- And if you're on a track, you don't have to worry about traffic or speed limits.
- Yes, but the second you break the speed limit by one mile per hour, everything in your bank account goes back to zero.
Examples
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So drive the speed limit, okay?
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Motorists regularly exceed the 45 mph speed limit on that part of Wardlow.
Blog text (13) -
But suppose I say I think the speed limit should be higher or lower.
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Oh, I would never break the speed limit.
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Could you at least drive the speed limit?
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I'll keep it under the speed limit.
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... We have already exceeded the speed limit.
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Texas Highway with the highest speed limit in the country is now open.
Blog text (10) -
The taxi drove at exactly the speed limit, weaving between a few delivery trucks and the occasional private car.
Fiction book (1999) -
The speed limit on this highway is 65 miles per hour.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the maximum speed at which a vehicle is legally permitted to travel' is directly derivable from combining 'speed' (how fast something moves) with 'limit' (the highest permissible degree). This straightforward noun+noun compositional pattern is common across languages and in English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase speed limit comes from the simple idea of speed, meaning how fast you go, and limit, meaning a clear line or rule. Imagine a road sign with a number that tells drivers the top speed, so it means 'the maximum speed allowed' on a road.