race1
/reɪs
/noun
1A competition between runners, horses, vehicles, etc. to see which is the fastest in covering a set course: Hill started from pole position and won the race...
- The final two races at Hawthorne Race Course on Wednesday were cancelled due to inclement weather conditions.
- A mate of mine who's a jockey once won a race on a horse of the same name, interestingly enough.
- In varsity and Olympic competition, races may involve boats with one, two, four, or eight rowers.
Synonyms
contest, competition;
relay, event, fixture, heat, rally, trial, time trial, head-to-head
1.1 (the races) A series of races for horses or dogs, held at a fixed time on a set course.The association fears the races will either have to be scaled down to an invitation race in September or cancelled completely for lack of funds....
- It describes a lifetime, Mick's own lifetime, spent attending the races and punting on dogs and horses with varying degrees of success.
- Our ten grand prize finalists and their guests were treated to a VIP day at the races, each excited by the fact that they were in with a one in ten chance of winning a sleek new car.
1.2 [in singular] A situation in which individuals or groups compete to be first to achieve a particular objective: the race for nuclear power...
- Back then, the moon race touched virtually every aspect of life.
- Biotechnology investments are soaring worldwide, fuelling the race for patents.
- On the 10th day before Christmas… the race for the Christmas number one record begins.
Synonyms
competition, contest, rivalry, contention, quest
1.3 archaic The course of the sun or moon through the heavens: the industrious sun already half his race hath run
2A strong or rapid current flowing through a narrow channel in the sea or a river: angling for tuna in turbulent tidal races...
- It is this submerged reef that causes fierce surges of current in the tide races in the area.
- The rescue proved timely, as the area is prone to large tidal races.
- The Crew dropped anchor in the hope of keeping out of the tide race, which is very strong between the Isle of Eynhallow and Mainland.
Synonyms
channel, waterway, watercourse, conduit, sluice, spillway, aqueduct
3A groove, channel, or passage, in particular:
3.1A water channel, especially one built to lead water to or from a point where its energy is utilized, as in a mill or mine.Still visible is the mill water race and base of the chimney....
- Roads were formed and water races constructed for gold mining and the irrigation that would lead to the prosperity that would follow.
3.2A smooth ring-shaped groove or guide in which a ball bearing or roller bearing runs.
3.3A fenced passageway in a stockyard through which animals pass singly for branding, loading, washing, etc.
3.4(In weaving) the channel along which the shuttle moves.
verb
1 [no object] Compete with another or others to see who is fastest at covering a set course or achieving an objective: the vet took blood samples from the horses before they raced [with object]: two drivers raced each other through a housing estate...
- The pair raced down the backstretch well clear of the rest of the field and turning into the stretch Tango for Tips put her nose in front.
- Fantastic Light will be one of the leading contenders for the Classic although he has never previously raced on a dirt track.
- Family and friends race each other and compete out on the water.
Synonyms
compete, take part in a race, run, contend
compete against, have a race with, run against, be pitted against, try to beat
1.1Compete regularly in races as a sport or leisure activity: next year, he raced again for the team...
- Before the VSCC's seven-year absence from Oulton, the club raced there regularly for 50 years.
- He is still racing regularly and has no plans to retire.
- He also had raced at Mountaineer Race Track and at Thistledown, riding 19 total winners.
1.2 [with object] Prepare and enter (an animal or vehicle) for races: he raced his three horses simply for the fun of it...
- The event had a mixture of modern and classic cars and everything from Bentleys to Formula One vehicles were raced.
- Martin began racing stock cars at 15 on dirt tracks near his home in Batesville, Ark.
- Whether you would rather race touring cars around Brands Hatch or hop Baja Beetles over rough dirt tracks, the choice is yours.
2 [no object, with adverbial] Move or progress swiftly or at full speed: I raced into the house figurative she spoke automatically, while her mind raced ahead...
- His mind was racing, full of a complex mix of worry and hope.
- Her mind raced, her eyes moving over the possible hiding places.
- She was all jittery and her mind was racing ahead of her.
Synonyms
hurry, dash, run, rush, sprint, bolt, dart, gallop, career, charge, shoot, hurtle, hare, bound, fly, speed, zoom, go hell for leather, pound, streak, scurry, scuttle, scamper, scramble, make haste, hasten, lose no time, spank along, really move
informal tear, belt, pelt, scoot, zap, zip, whip, step on it, get a move on, hotfoot it, leg it, steam, put on some speed, go like a bat out of hell, burn rubber
British informal bomb, bucket, put one's foot down
Scottish informal wheech
North American informal boogie, hightail it, clip, barrel, get the lead out
informal, dated cut along
North American vulgar slang drag/tear/haul ass
literary fleet
archaic post, hie, haste
2.1Operate or cause to operate at excessive speed: [no object]: the truck came to rest against a tree with its engine racing...
- Kevin's Kurdish driver, Adnan, had raced his engine and clogged up the carburetor of his Nissan.
- The driver simply races the engine, trying harder to get away.
- While sitting on the bike and racing the engine, he felt the motorcycle accidentally slipping into gear.
2.2 [no object] (Of a person’s heart or pulse) beat faster than usual because of fear or excitement.Deep blue eyes stare at me, cold and hard, and my heart is racing with fear....
- Steven's heard raced, of course someone would have mentioned this!
- My heart is racing, from excitement and the first 2-mile climb.
Synonyms
beat rapidly, pound, throb, pulsate, pulse, thud, thump, hammer, palpitate, flutter, pitter-patter, go pit-a-pat, quiver, vibrate, pump, pant, thrill
rare quop
Phrases
be at the races (or in the race)
a race against time
a race to (or for) the bottom
Origin
Late Old English, from Old Norse rás 'current'. It was originally a northern English word with the sense 'rapid forward movement', which gave rise to the senses 'contest of speed' (early 16th century) and 'channel, path' (i.e. the space traversed). The verb dates from the late 15th century.
The earliest sense of race was of rapid forward movement. It was originally a word from northern English, which entered the general language around the middle of the 16th century. It comes from Old Norse rás ‘current’. Senses that developed at this period were ‘contest of speed’ and ‘channel, path’, as in mill race or ‘mill stream’. The idea of a race against time as a situation in which you try to do or complete something in a given time or before something else happens is found from the mid 19th century. Race with the meaning ‘a division of humankind’ dates from the 16th century, and is a quite different word. It probably comes from an Italian word, razza, of unknown origin. See also rat
Rhymes
race2
/reɪs/noun
1Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics: people of all races, colours, and creeds...
- He stated that if the wide gap between the two major races continued to exist it could lead to serious threats to security and economic development.
- Different races clearly have different physical characteristics, but the case for a generalised superiority of one race over the other is weak.
- Jews represent a group of people rather than a distinct race or ethnicity.
1.1 [mass noun] The fact or condition of belonging to a racial division or group; the qualities or characteristics associated with this.People of European origin, Asians, and people of mixed race enjoy the best standard of living....
- He wishes to claim that in this society sex is a more fundamental fact about people than race.
- People of mixed race are being excluded from society and face prejudice from both sides.
1.2A group of people sharing the same culture, history, language, etc.; an ethnic group: we Scots were a bloodthirsty race then...
- They sought to weld the country's diverse ethnicities into a Brazilian race defined in historical and cultural terms.
- We Scots might be handsome but, as a race, we're not renowned for our height.
- We are trying to find out why the British as a race find it amazingly funny to take their clothes off.
Synonyms
people, nation
1.3A group or set of people or things with a common feature or features: some male firefighters still regarded women as a race apart...
- This sedentary behaviour is apparently turning our kids into a race of slothful fatties who risk a reduced lifespan and other problems.
- They are not a race apart - it could happen to any one of us at any time.
- As a matter of fact isn't ‘redneck’ a word used in disdain to describe a race and class of people?
Synonyms
group, type, sort, class, kind, variety, ilk, genre, cast, style, brand, vintage, order, breed, species, generation
1.4 Biology A population within a species that is distinct in some way, especially a subspecies: people have killed so many tigers that two races are probably extinct...
- This may be due, at least in part, to the differential sampling of races in the two subspecies, or it may reflect a real difference in allele frequencies.
- Specimens identified as three separate species, based primarily on filament diameter and cell size, were determined to be polyploid races of a single species.
- One accepted phylogeny classifies Rheidae as a family, with two species and several races.
1.5(In non-technical use) each of the major divisions of living creatures: a member of the human race the race of birds...
- Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family.
- The race of plants, and the race of animals shrink under this great restrictive law.
- The human race no longer adapts through natural selection.
1.6 literary A group of people descended from a common ancestor: a prince of the race of Solomon...
- These racists believed that not all races of humans had descended from Adam and Eve.
Synonyms
family, line, lineage, house, dynasty, stock, blood, folk, clan, tribe;
ancestry, descent, bloodline;
progeny, offspring, issue
1.7 [mass noun] archaic Ancestry: two coursers of ethereal race
Although ideas of race are centuries old, it was not until the 19th century that attempts to systematize racial divisions were made. Ideas of supposed racial superiority and social Darwinism reached their culmination in Nazi ideology of the 1930s and gave pseudoscientific justification to policies and attitudes of discrimination, exploitation, slavery, and extermination. Theories of race asserting a link between racial type and intelligence are now discredited. Scientifically it is accepted as obvious that there are subdivisions of the human species, but it is also clear that genetic variation between individuals of the same race can be as great as that between members of different races.
Usage
In recent years, the associations of race with the ideologies and theories that grew out of the work of 19th-century anthropologists and physiologists has led to the use of the word race itself becoming problematic. Although still used in general contexts, it is now often replaced by other words which are less emotionally charged, such as people(s) or community.
Origin
Early 16th century (denoting a group with common features): via French from Italian razza, of unknown ultimate origin.
race3
/reɪs/noun dated
A ginger root.This was the only race with clear root injuries and chlorosis of the leaves, both commonly regarded as symptoms of Al toxicity.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French rais, from Latin radix, radic- 'root'.