# race

Pronunciation: say "RAYS" /ɹeɪs/

## Noun

1. A contest among people, animals, or vehicles in which the goal is to be first to reach a set objective.
   - Simple: A contest to find out who is fastest at reaching a goal or finish line.
   - _Thousands of runners lined up for the start of the marathon race._
   - _The two sailboats fought a close race to the harbor._
2. One of the large groups people are divided into according to shared physical features, such as skin color, and shared ancestry.
   - Simple: One of the large groups people are put into because of things like skin color and family background.
   - _The census asked respondents to identify their race._
   - _Unjust laws once divided citizens by race and denied many their rights._
3. A contest among candidates for an elected post, for power or for some other prize, most often a campaign for office.
   - Simple: A contest between people trying to win an election, a position of power or some other prize.
   - _She entered the Senate race just six months before the primary._
   - _The race for the chairmanship has split the board into two camps._
7. A large group of nonhuman beings distinguished from others by a shared heritage, as in fantasy or science fiction.
   - Simple: A large group of non-human beings who share a background, like elves or dwarves in a story.
   - _In the novel, the dwarves are a proud race who carve their cities deep inside the mountains._
   - _Each playable race in the game has its own special abilities._
8. A class or kind of people or things set apart by the qualities they share.
   - Simple: A kind of people or things that are alike in some way.
   - _Poets, she said, are a dreamy race who see the world differently._
   - _Sailors were long regarded as a hardy race, used to danger and hardship._
10. Rapid motion or swift progress; a single instance of moving at high speed.
   - Simple: Very fast movement, or a single burst of moving at high speed.
   - _The morning race to the train station leaves him breathless._
   - _The dog's wild race around the yard ended in a heap of mud and leaves._
12. In biology, a group within a species of animal, plant, or microorganism that has its own distinct characteristics; a breed or strain.
   - Simple: In biology, a group of animals, plants, or germs of one species that share special features, like a breed.
   - _Some experts rank the paler birds as a full species; others call them only a race._
   - _The museum label gives the bird's species and race in a three-part Latin name._
13. An ongoing progression of events advancing steadily toward some end or purpose.
   - Simple: A series of steps or events that move steadily toward a goal.
   - _The startup's race toward profitability consumed three exhausting years._
   - _Once the first bank failed, nothing could slow the race of events that followed._
14. A channel along which water or something else moves, especially one carrying water to or from a mill wheel.
   - Simple: A narrow channel that water or things move along, especially one that takes water to a mill.
   - _The miller opened the gate and let water surge through the race._
   - _A stone-lined race carried the stream down to the wheelhouse._
16. A fast-moving current of water, such as one where the tide runs hard through a narrow stretch of sea.
   - Simple: A fast-moving flow of water, such as a strong current in the sea.
   - _The tidal race between the islands can sweep a kayak off course._
   - _Experienced sailors time their passage to avoid the race that builds off the point on a spring tide._

## Verb

4. To move or drive very fast; to rush or hurry.
   - Simple: To move very fast, or to hurry somewhere quickly.
   - _Paramedics race to the scene whenever a call comes in._
   - _She raced across town to make her flight._
5. To take part in a contest of speed, or to compete against someone or something in one.
   - Simple: To take part in a race, or to try to go faster than someone else.
   - _Amateur cyclists race in the city park each Sunday._
   - _He has raced professionally for over a decade._
6. To put a horse, car or other animal or vehicle into races, or to compete on or in it as its rider or driver.
   - Simple: To put an animal or vehicle in races, or to ride or drive it in a race.
   - _The family has raced thoroughbreds at Saratoga for three generations._
   - _Few private owners can afford to race a car at that level._
9. To beat faster than normal, said of the heart or pulse, or to jump rapidly between ideas, said of the mind or thoughts.
   - Simple: (Of the heart) to beat faster than normal, or (of the mind) to jump quickly from one thought to the next.
   - _Lying awake the night before the exam, he felt his thoughts race from one worry to the next._
   - _Her pulse raced as the plane dropped sharply through the clouds._
11. Of an engine, to turn at high speed while disconnected from the transmission.
   - Simple: To turn very fast when an engine is not connected to the gears.
   - _When the clutch slipped, the engine raced uncontrollably._
   - _A cold motor tends to race until it warms up._

## Noun

15. A family line, meaning either the ancestors a person comes from or the descendants who come after them. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The family a person comes from, or the children and grandchildren who come after them.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A flaw that arises when two or more parts of a system access a shared resource at the same time, so the outcome depends on their timing.
- (verb) To categorize a person as belonging to a particular race, or to perceive them as having one.
- (noun) A grooved ring within a rolling-element bearing along which balls or rollers travel, holding them in place as they turn.
- (noun) A grooved track on a loom or sewing machine along which the shuttle travels during weaving or stitching.
- (noun) A single session or round of play in the game of keno.
- (noun) An underground stem or root, particularly that of the ginger plant.
- (noun) The act of conceiving and bearing biological offspring through sexual reproduction.
- (verb) To cut, scratch, or tear someone or something with a sharp object; to lacerate or slash.
- (noun) The distinctive flavor or strength of a wine that reveals where it comes from or what kind it is, or by extension any typical flavor.
- (noun) The particular nature or temper that sets someone or something apart.
- (noun) A single generation in a line of descent.
- (verb) To hand on particular inherited features to its young, said of an animal or plant.
- (verb) To dress the face of a grindstone or grinding wheel with a scraping tool so it cuts well.
- (verb) To destroy a building or town completely, leaving nothing standing.
- (verb) To force a route through an obstacle by slashing or ripping.
- (verb) To ornament clothing or shoes with slits, often so a contrasting fabric shows through.
- (verb) To change a written document by scraping or rubbing out some of its writing.
- (verb) To remove writing or a record, in early use by scraping the surface.
- (verb) To get rid of a person or thing completely, from a place or situation, or to destroy it altogether.
- (verb) To grab or yank something away.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–6, 9–11, 13–14, 16** — The root is Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁s-, meaning to flow or rush, which gave Proto-Germanic *rēsō (a course). From that came both Old Norse rás (a running, race) and Old English rǣs (a race, a rush, swift or violent running), and the two together produced Middle English race.
**Meanings 2, 7–8, 12, 15** — Recorded by the 1550s, borrowed via Middle French race from Italian razza (early 14th century), a word of uncertain origin. Many theories have been suggested, from a Germanic word for line, from Arabic رَأْس (raʔs, head), from Latin generatio, radius, radix, or ratio, or from Old French haraz (troop of horses), but none is firmly established.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/race (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).