speeding

/ˈspiːdɪŋ/

speeding is the present participle and gerund of speed.

Adjective

speeding (not comparable)

Travelling very fast; moving at speed.
Specifically, travelling at an illegal speed (of vehicles, motorists).
- We were overtaken on the inside by a speeding motorcyclist.
- The NTSB said on Tuesday that the 2022 North Las Vegas crash highlights the need for intelligent speed assistance technology and countermeasures including interlock program for repeat speeding offenders. National Transportation Safety Board Calls For Speed-Limiting Tech in Cars, Road track, 15 Nov...
Under the influence of the drug speed; high on amphetamines.
- Bob Dylan composed “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” on our floor, and a speeding Edie Sedgwick was said to have set her room on fire while gluing on her thick false eyelashes by candlelight.2010, Patti Smith, Just Kids, Ecco, published 2010, page 112

speeding (countable and uncountable, plural speedings)

(countable) (Instance of) acceleration.
- […] a hearing, with a file of orders in the solicitor's bundle, as big as the common-prayer-book, for commissions, injunctions, publications, speedings, delayings, and other interlocutories; all dear ware to the client in every respect.1826, Roger North, The Lives of the Right Hon. Francis North, Baron Guilford; the Hon. Sir Dudley North; and the Hon. and Rev. Dr. John North
- We have seen Parkinsonism as sudden starts and stops, as odd speedings and slowings.1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
(uncountable) Driving faster than the legal speed limit.
- He was fined $100 for speeding.

speed (third-person singular simple present speeds, present participle speeding, simple past and past participle sped or (chiefly UK) speeded)

(archaic, intransitive) To succeed; to prosper, be lucky.
- And yf I maye fynde suche a knyghte that hath all these vertues / he may drawe oute this swerd oute of the shethe / for I haue ben at kyng Ryons / it was told me ther were passyng good knyghtes / and he and alle his knyghtes haue assayed it and none can spede1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter 1, in Le Morte Darthur, book I
(archaic, transitive) To help someone, to give them fortune; to aid or favour.
- God speed, until we meet again.
(intransitive) To go fast.
- The Ferrari was speeding along the road.
Synonyms:

zing
(intransitive) To exceed the speed limit.
- Why do you speed when the road is so icy?
(transitive) To increase the rate at which something occurs.
- It is possible that the uterine contractions speed the sperm along.1982, Carole Offir, Carole Wade, Human sexuality,, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, page 454
(intransitive, slang) To be under the influence of stimulant drugs, especially amphetamines.
- Jackie is just speeding away / Thought she was James Dean for a day1972, Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side”, in Transformer

plural	speedings

From speed + -ing.

23 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does speeding mean?: Speeding means travelling very fast; moving at speed.
What is speeding the present participle and gerund of?: Speeding is the present participle and gerund of speed.
What part of speech is speeding?: Speeding can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce speeding?: Speeding is pronounced /ˈspiːdɪŋ/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: speeding (page history and authors); speed (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-speeding.wav.

Cite this entry: “speeding.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/speeding. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.