Definition

Noun: A person who drives a vehicle at excessively high speeds, habitually and often recklessly exceeding the legal or safe speed limit. The term implies a disregard for safety and a preoccupation with driving fast.

Usage

The term "speed demon" is used to describe a driver whose characteristic behavior is to drive far too fast. It is a colorful, informal, and often critical label. - It functions as a countable noun. - It is typically used in a disapproving or cautionary context.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The highway patrol is on the lookout for speed demons on this stretch of road.
  • Ever since he got that sports car, he's turned into a real speed demon.
  • She warned her teenage son not to become a speed demon when he got his license.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe someone who does any activity at a very fast, sometimes reckless, pace.
  • In the kitchen, she's a speed demon, chopping vegetables faster than anyone I know.

Variants and Related Words

• Lead foot (n., informal): Another informal term for a driver who frequently speeds.
• Reckless driver (n.): A more formal and general term for a driver who operates a vehicle dangerously.
• Speeder (n.): A neutral term for someone caught driving above the speed limit.

Synonyms

• Reckless driver
• Fast driver (less critical)
• Habitual speeder

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To have a lead foot: An idiom meaning to have a tendency to drive fast.
  • Be careful riding with him; he has a lead foot.
• To put the pedal to the metal: An idiom meaning to drive at maximum speed.
  • Once he got on the open road, he put the pedal to the metal.

Noun

1. a driver who exceeds the safe speed limit