speed of motion, action, or operation; rapidity; swiftness
2. physics
a measure of the rate of motion of a body expressed as the rate of change of its position in a particulardirection with time. It is measured in metres per second, miles per hour, etc
Symbol: u, v, w
3. physics(not in technical usage) another word for speed (sense 3)
Word origin
C16: from Latin vēlōcitās, from vēlōx swift; related to volāre to fly
Examples of 'velocities' in a sentence
velocities
Baseball is a game of absolutely flat planes, perfect right angles, precise distances, measured velocities, and beautiful parabolas.
Tapply, William G FOLLOW THE SHARKS
It does need fast water, though, and it withers if velocities drop.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What about bodies moving at changing velocities?
Smithsonian (2011)
These speeds are called redshift velocities, because of their effect on the galaxy's spectrum.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Interestingly, if the atmosphere did not exist, raindrops would hit the ground at frightening velocities.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This creates enough force to push the nanobullets out at velocities reaching several metres per second.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Forty years ago there wasn't the computing power or wind-tunnel expertise to keep a car stable at such velocities.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
All related terms of 'velocities'
velocity
Velocity is the speed at which something moves in a particular direction.
group speed
the speed at which energy is propagated in a wave . This is the quantity determined when one measures the distance which the radiation travels in a given time. In a medium in which the speed increases with wavelength the group speed is less than the phase speed, and vice versa
phase speed
the speed at which the phase of a wave is propagated , the product of the frequency times the wavelength . This is the quantity that is determined by methods using interference . In a dispersive medium it differs from the group speed
wave speed
the speed at which the phase of a wave is propagated , the product of the frequency times the wavelength . This is the quantity that is determined by methods using interference . In a dispersive medium it differs from the group speed
angular velocity
the velocity of a body rotating about a specified axis measured as the rate of change of the angle subtended at that axis by the path of the body
escape velocity
the minimum velocity that a body must have in order to escape from the gravitational field of the earth or other celestial body
muzzle velocity
the velocity of a projectile as it leaves a firearm's muzzle
orbital velocity
the velocity required by a spacecraft , satellite , etc, to enter and maintain a given orbit
particle velocity
the velocity of a point in a medium that is undergoing wave motion
radial velocity
the component of the velocity of an object, esp a celestial body, directed along a line from the observer to the object
terminal velocity
the constant maximum velocity reached by a body falling under gravity through a fluid , esp the atmosphere
characteristic velocity
a measure of the effectiveness with which the combustion in a rocket engine produces high temperature and pressure, equal to the exhaust velocity divided by the thrust coefficient