speed bag

noun

variants or less commonly speedbag

ˈspēd-ˌbag 

or speed ball

plural speed bags also speedbags or speed balls

: a small usually teardrop-shaped punching bag (see punching bag sense 1) used especially for developing speed, coordination, and timing

… counts out loud each punch she hurls at the speed bag in front of her, keeping her eyes trained on the moving target as it whips back at her face. Before it can hit her, she throws another punch with her alternate hand. She repeats the pattern for 45 seconds, her rhythmic punches creating a drum-like cadence.

—Jackie Roman

Speed bags perfect your timing and speed.

—Kevan W. Matthews

… the rhythmic cadence coming from a lone boxer working a speedbag.

—Tom Archdeacon

… he hooked his tattered speed ball to a metal post and hit it with rapid-fire jabs that echoed throughout the athletic complex.

—Alan Citron

compare heavy bag

Examples of speed bag in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The 76ers are more likely to treat their opponents like a speed bag, sending blow after blow with a deep roster packed with past, current and future All-Stars. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above