The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word STEP
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
E
P
More clues leading to the result STEP
- Rank particularly cherished by soldier at first on the up
- Stair animals loved climbing
- Leading couples in Strictly episodes must be in this
- Having tantrums on retreat, one in flight
- Family animals up for a bit of a walk
- Procedure observed in latest epistle
- Rung of ladder dogs perhaps upset
- Dogs perhaps retreating, one in flight
- Stage return of favourite items
- Second favourite reversed dance movement
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Pace" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case pace = step.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STEP mean?
STEP noun- An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.
- A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a rung of a ladder.
- A distinct part of a process; stage; phase.
- A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus.
- The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running.
- A small space or distance.
- A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
- A gait; manner of walking.
- Proceeding; measure; action; act.
- (plural) A walk; passage.
- (plural) A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
- A framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specifically, a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast.
- (machines) One of a series of offsets, or parts, resembling the steps of stairs, as one of the series of parts of a cone pulley on which the belt runs.
- (machines) A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves.
- The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale.
- (kinematics) A change of position effected by a motion of translation.
- A constant difference between consecutive values in a series.
- A stepsibling.
- To move the foot in walking; to advance or recede by raising and moving one of the feet to another resting place, or by moving both feet in succession.
- To walk; to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance.
- To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.
- To move mentally; to go in imagination.
- To set, as the foot.
- To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect.