Paste and paced are two words that are pronounced in the same fashion but have different spellings and different meanings. They are homophones. We will look at the definitions of paste and paced, where these two words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
Paste may describe a semi-solid substance that is used as an adhesive. Paste may also refer to any semi-solid substance, made by mashing together a liquid and solid. Paste can mean a type of artificial gem set in jewelry, or may be used in an informal sense to mean to defeat or someone or punch someone. Paste may be used as a noun or a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. The word paste is derived from the Old French word paste, which means dough.
Paced is the past tense of pace, which means to take a single step, the distance covered in a single step, a horse’s gait, the rate at which something moves or the speed at which someone walks or runs. Pace may also mean aimless backward and forward walking, to lead other runners in order to win a race, to do something at a steady speed in order to keep from exhausting oneself. Paced may be used as either a transitive or intransitive word, related words are pace, paces, pacing. The word pace is derived from the Latin word passus which means step or stride.
Examples
President Donald Trump’s decision to give Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, a major role on his foreign-policy team was amplified by a cut-and-paste error, according to a report from The New York Times. (The Business Insider)
A quartet of fine actors under Rachael Sheffer’s beautifully paced direction tells the story of Maureen’s lifelong struggle with weight and self-consciousness about her looks, and her sister Sheila’s (Amy Fiebke) constant effort to improve her looks through tucking, lifting, tightening and injecting for the benefit of her wandering-eye husband, Squire (Sky Vogel). (The Daily Gazette)