ground speed

noun

: the speed (as of an airplane) with relation to the ground compare airspeed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Come back to the difference between the relative air speed and the ground speed. —

Eric Wolff, Discover Magazine, 10 June 2010 In the example, the cart reaches a ground speed of 10 kph, and relative air speed of 0 kph. —

Eric Wolff, Discover Magazine, 10 June 2010 Flightradar24 data shows the flight's ground speed and altitude: Just over six hours into the flight, the plane dropped about 800 feet in in 12 seconds, according to the data. —

Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 19 Dec. 2022 Pilots have punched out successfully from zero-zero attitude (no altitude, no ground speed) up to and through the sound barrier. —

Kevin V. Brown, Popular Mechanics, 17 June 2021 Ingenuity was commanded to climb to an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) before translating 492 feet (150 meters) to the southwest at a ground speed of 9 mph (4 meters per second). —

Chris Smith, BGR, 29 May 2021 The current speed record was set in 2008 when a Bombardier Global Express jet made the journey at an average ground speed of 511mph. —

Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 1 July 2019 While that statistic would suggest that the Dreamliner crashed through the sound barrier (767 mph), that's not actually what happened: The plane reached a ground speed of 801 mph, but wasn't technically moving that fast at altitude. —

Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, 19 Feb. 2019 Slow the mower’s ground speed—or your walking speed—to allow more thorough mulching action. —

Roy Berendson, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2018 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ground speed.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.