The consensus is that both speeded and sped are correct past tense and past participle forms of the verb speed.
Sped is speedily becoming the more prevalent past tense and past participle, with speeded mainly being used as a phrasal verb (followed by up).
The gist on the verb ‘speed’
The word speed can be both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it refers to “the rate at which an object covers distance.” As a verb, it refers to “moving along quickly”; as in “we sped up when we heard the dog’s barks getting closer.”
For example: “I’m not the kind of person who speeds out of bed in the morning.” This shows speed in the third-person present singular form. Take a look at the other verb forms of speed:
| present | past | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple | I speed | I sped/speeded | I will speed |
| continuous | I am speeding | I was speeding | I will be speeding |
| perfect | I have sped/speeded | I had sped/speeded | I will have sped/speeded |
| perfect continuous | I have been speeding | I had been speeding | I will have been speeding |
Verb tenses of ‘speed’.
Irregular verbs like “speed”/”sped”
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
|---|---|---|
| lead | led | led |
| speed | sped | sped |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| feed | fed | fed |
| breed | bred | bred |
Irregular verbs with one past tense.
When to use “speed” vs. “sped”
The simple past tense of speed (rhymes with beed) is sped (rhymes with shed). But what’s the difference between the simple past tense sped, and the past participle sped (or speeded)? See a comparison of both past forms of the verb speed in context:
| Word form | Sentence |
|---|---|
| speed | He drove the speed limit. |
| sped | The paperboy sped through the neighbourhood on his bike. |
| speeded | The train speeded up as it left the station. |
“speed” past tense: visualize a car “sped” quickly down the road, contrasting with “speeded up” (a more deliberate change in speed).
Origin of the verb speed
Old English spedan (intransitive) “to succeed, prosper, grow rich, advance,” from the stem of speed (n.). German sputen “make haste, hurry.” Meaning “to go hastily from place to place, move rapidly” is attested from c. 1200.
Practice: Forms of “Speed”
The car ______ down the highway at over 100 miles per hour.
He had ______ through his work to finish early.
She ______ past the other runners to take the lead.
The ambulance ______ to the scene of the accident.
Time has really ______ by this year.
FAQs
What is the past tense of speed?
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Which form of speed is used more often now?
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Give an example using ‘sped’ in past tense.
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When is ‘speeded’ typically used?
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Is “speed” ever used as the past tense?
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Sources
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www.grammarflex.com/sped-or-speeded/
Yash, D. "Is the Right Word Sped or Speeded (Irregular Verbs)." Grammarflex, Aug 14, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/sped-or-speeded/.
