speed dating

noun

1. an organized social event in which participants have one-on-one conversations typically limited to less than ten minutes, for the purpose of meeting people they would like to date.

speed dating

noun

1. a method of meeting potential partners in which each participant has only a few minutes to talk to each of his or her dates before being moved on to the next one. At the end of the event, paticipants decide which dates they would like to see again

Derived Forms

• speed dater, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of speed dating¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Our zany riff on “speed dating,” for example, used a host of prepared questions as conversation starters.

From Washington Post

Said it was like speed dating because he was late after hitting every wrong gate on the lot.

From The Daily Beast

Ray Fisman is an economist at Columbia who has done a fair bit of research on speed dating.

From The Daily Beast