cruising speed

noun

: the speed at which an airplane, a boat, etc., usually moves when it is traveling at a fast speed for a long distance
The boat has a cruising speed of 25 knots.
The boat handled well at cruising speed.

Examples of cruising speed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And at 80 mph: 200 miles - a 28% drop from the most efficient cruising speed. Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025 The five-seat model, debuted in 2018, takes off with a Safran Arrius 2R engine that delivers a max cruising speed of 143 mph. Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2025 The cruising speed for commercial airplanes is usually around 453 knots, or 521 miles per hour, and the average cruising speed for a helicopter is around 140 knots, or 161 miles per hour. Karoline Leonard, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025 Photo : Dassault Dassault Falcon 6X, $49.5 million Dassault’s new ultra-wide body Falcon 6X has a range of 5,500-nautical miles with a max cruising speed of Mach 0.90. Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024 Transatlantic flights from northern Europe — London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen — routinely cross the southern half of the island, the bright, barren ice sheet often visible for up to an hour of cruising speed. Morten Høi Jensen, The Dial, 19 June 2025 At highway cruising speed, the SUV is satisfactory. James Raia, Mercury News, 16 June 2025 Standard power of twin 2,000 hp MAN V-12 engines deliver a top speed of 25 knots, with a friendly 21-knot cruising speed. Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 28 May 2025 The study also found that Megalodon’s estimated cruising speed, based on the structure of its scales, was between 1.3 and 2.2 miles (2.1-3.5 kilometers) per hour, comparable to that of today’s great white sharks. Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025

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“Cruising speed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruising%20speed. Accessed 30 Aug. 2025.

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