put through one's paces

pace

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [peys]
- /peɪs/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [peys]
- /peɪs/

Definitions of put through one's paces words

noun put through one's paces a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc.: to walk at a brisk pace of five miles an hour. 1
noun put through one's paces a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc.; tempo. 1
noun put through one's paces any of various standard linear measures, representing the space naturally measured by the movement of the feet in walking: roughly 30 to 40 inches (75 cm to 1 meter). Compare geometrical pace, military pace, Roman pace. 1
noun put through one's paces a single step: She took three paces in the direction of the door. 1
noun put through one's paces the distance covered in a step: Stand six paces inside the gates. 1
noun put through one's paces a manner of stepping; gait. 1

See all 20 definitions of put through one's paces

Information block about the term

Origin of put through one's paces

First appearance:

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English pas < Old French < Latin passus step, pace, equivalent to pad-, variant stem of pandere to spread (the legs, in walking) + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt > ss

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Put through one's paces

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Put through one's paces

put through one's paces popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 97% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

Matching words

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