pace ◆◇◇ /pe I s/ (paces , pacing , paced )
1 N‑SING The pace of something is the speed at which it happens or is done. □ [+ of ] Many people were not satisfied with the pace of change. □ …people who prefer to live at a slower pace. □ Interest rates would come down as the recovery gathered pace.
2 N‑SING Your pace is the speed at which you walk. □ He moved at a brisk pace down the rue St Antoine.
3 N‑COUNT A pace is the distance that you move when you take one step. □ He'd only gone a few paces before he stopped again.
4 VERB If you pace a small area, you keep walking up and down it, because you are anxious or impatient. □ [V n] As they waited, Kravis paced the room nervously. □ [V prep/adv] He found John pacing around the flat, unable to sleep. □ [V ] She stared as he paced and yelled.
5 VERB If you pace yourself when doing something, you do it at a steady rate. □ [V pron-refl] It was a tough race and I had to pace myself.
6 PHRASE If something keeps pace with something else that is changing, it changes quickly in response to it. □ [+ with ] Farmers are angry because the rise fails to keep pace with inflation.
7 PHRASE If you keep pace with someone who is walking or running, you succeed in going as fast as them, so that you remain close to them. □ [+ with ] With four laps to go, he kept pace with the leaders.
8 PHRASE If you do something at your own pace , you do it at a speed that is comfortable for you. □ The computer will give students the opportunity to learn at their own pace.
9 PHRASE If you put someone through their paces or make them go through their paces , you get them to show you how well they can do something. □ The British coach is putting the boxers through their paces.
10 at a snail's pace → see snail
paced /pe I st/ ADJ [adv ADJ ] If you talk about the way that something such as a film or book is paced , you are referring to the speed at which the story is told. □ This excellent thriller is fast paced and believable.
pace|maker /pe I sme I kə r / (pacemakers )
1 N‑COUNT A pacemaker is a device that is placed inside someone's body in order to help their heart beat in the right way. □ She was fitted with a pacemaker after suffering serious heart trouble.
2 N‑COUNT A pacemaker is a competitor in a race whose task is to start the race very quickly in order to help the other runners achieve a very fast time. Pacemakers usually stop before the race is finished.
pace|setter /pe I ssetə r / (pacesetters ) also pace-setter
1 N‑COUNT A pacesetter is someone who is in the lead during part of a race or competition and therefore decides the speed or standard of the race or competition for that time. □ Their victory keeps them five points behind the pacesetters. □ Hammond was the early pace-setter.
2 N‑COUNT A pacesetter is a person or a company that is considered to be the leader in a particular field or activity. □ [+ for ] They were the pacesetter for political change in the region.
pacey /pe I si/ → see pacy
pa|cif|ic /pəs I f I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A pacific person, country, or course of action is peaceful or has the aim of bringing about peace. [FORMAL ] □ The Liberals were traditionally seen as the more pacific party.
Pa|cif|ic
1 N‑PROPER The Pacific or the Pacific Ocean is a very large sea to the west of North and South America, and to the east of Asia and Australia. □ …an island in the Pacific.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Pacific is used to describe things that are in or that relate to the Pacific Ocean. □ …the tiny Pacific island of Pohnpei.
paci|fi|er /pæ s I fa I ə r / (pacifiers ) N‑COUNT A pacifier is a rubber or plastic object that you give to a baby to suck so that he or she feels comforted. [AM ] in BRIT, use dummy
paci|fism /pæ s I f I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Pacifism is the belief that war and violence are always wrong.
paci|fist /pæ s I f I st/ (pacifists )
1 N‑COUNT A pacifist is someone who believes that violence is wrong and refuses to take part in wars.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone has pacifist views, they believe that war and violence are always wrong.
paci|fy /pæ s I fa I / (pacifies , pacifying , pacified )
1 VERB If you pacify someone who is angry, upset, or not pleased, you succeed in making them calm or pleased. □ [V n] Is this a serious step, or is this just something to pacify the critics?
2 VERB If the army or the police pacify a group of people, they use force to overcome their resistance or protests. □ [V n] Government forces have found it difficult to pacify the rebels. ● paci|fi|ca|tion /pæ s I f I ke I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the pacification of the country.
pack ◆◆◇ /pæ k/ (packs , packing , packed )
1 VERB When you pack a bag, you put clothes and other things into it, because you are leaving a place or going on holiday. □ [V n] When I was 17, I packed my bags and left home. □ [V ] I packed and said goodbye to Charlie. ● pack|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ She left Frances to finish her packing.
2 VERB When people pack things, for example in a factory, they put them into containers or parcels so that they can be transported and sold. □ [V n] They offered me a job packing goods in a warehouse. □ [V n + in ] Machines now exist to pack olives in jars. □ [V -ed] …sardines packed in oil. ● pack|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ His onions cost 9p a lb wholesale; packing and transport costs 10p.