Noun (countable and uncountable, plural races)
- A contest between people, animals, vehicles, etc. where the goal is to be the first to reach some objective. Several horses run in a horse race, and the first one to reach the finishing post wins
- The race around the park was won by Johnny, who ran faster than the others.
- We had a race to see who could finish the book the quickest.
- A progressive movement toward a goal.
- A fast-moving current of water, such as that which powers a mill wheel.
- Swift progress; rapid course; a running.
- Competitive action of any kind, especially when prolonged; hence, career; course of life.
- Travels, runs, or journeys.
- The bushings of a rolling element bearing which contacts the rolling elements.
Verb (third-person singular simple present races, present participle racing, simple past and past participle raced)
- (intransitive) To take part in a race (in the sense of a contest).
- The drivers were racing around the track.
- To compete against in such a race.
- I raced him to the car, but he was there first, so he got to ride shotgun.
- (intransitive) To move or drive at high speed.
- As soon as it was time to go home, he raced for the door.
- Her heart was racing as she peered into the dimly lit room.
- (intransitive) Of a motor, to run rapidly when not engaged to a transmission.
Origin From Middle English race, from Old Norse rás (“a running, race"), from Proto-Germanic *rÄ“sÅ (“a course"), from Proto-Indo-European *res-, *eres- (“to flow"). Akin to Old English rÇ£s (“a race, swift or violent running, rush, onset"), Middle Low German râs (“a strong current"). Compare Danish ræs, Norwegian and Swedish ras.
Noun (countable and uncountable, plural races)
- A group of sentient beings, particularly people, distinguished by common heritage or characteristics:
- A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.
- A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of common physical characteristics, such as skin color or hair type.
- Race was a significant issue during apartheid in South Africa.
- (controversial usage) One of the categories from the many subcategorizations of the human species. See Wikipedia's article on historical definitions of race.
- The Native Americans colonized the New World in several waves from Asia, and thus they are considered part of the same Mongoloid race.
- A large group of sentient beings distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage (compare species, subspecies).
- A treaty was concluded between the race of elves and the race of men.
- (biology) A population geographically separated from others of its species that develops significantly different characteristics; an informal term for a subspecies.
- A breed or strain of domesticated animal.
- (figuratively) A category or species of something that has emerged or evolved from an older one (with an implied parallel to animal breeding or evolutionary science).
- The advent of the Internet has brought about a new race of entrepreneur.
- Recent developments in artificial intelligence has brought about a new race of robots that can perform household chores without supervision.
- Peculiar flavour, taste, or strength, as of wine; that quality, or assemblage of qualities, which indicates origin or kind, as in wine; hence, characteristic flavour.
- Characteristic quality or disposition.
Origin From Middle French race, from Italian razza, of uncertain origin.
Some authorities suggest derivation from Old Spanish raza, rasa, from earlier ras, res "head of cattle", from Arabic رأس (ra's, “head"). This, however, is difficult to support, since Italian razza predates the Spanish word.
Another possible source is Lombardic raiza "line", a literal rendering of Latin linea sanguinis "bloodline of descent". Raiza is of Germanic origin, akin to Old High German reiza "line", Old Norse rīta "to score, log, outline".
A third possibility is that the Italian razza derives from Latin ratio through an unattested intermediate form *razzo.
Noun (plural races)
- A rhizome or root, especially of ginger.
Origin From Middle French, from Latin radix
Prefix - (chemistry) Denoting a racemic mix or racemate of enantiomers.
