- Race
- Race Race, n. [OE. ras, res, rees, AS. r[=ae]s a rush,
running; akin to Icel. r[=a]s course, race. [root]118.]
1. A progress; a course; a movement or progression.
[1913 Webster]
2. Esp., swift progress; rapid course; a running. [1913 Webster]
The flight of many birds is swifter than the race of any beasts. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
3. Hence: The act or process of running in competition; a contest of speed in any way, as in running, riding, driving, skating, rowing, sailing; in the plural, usually, a meeting for contests in the running of horses; as, he attended the races. [1913 Webster]
The race is not to the swift. --Eccl. ix. 11. [1913 Webster]
I wield the gauntlet, and I run the race. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
4. Competitive action of any kind, especially when prolonged; hence, career; course of life. [1913 Webster]
My race of glory run, and race of shame. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
5. A strong or rapid current of water, or the channel or passage for such a current; a powerful current or heavy sea, sometimes produced by the meeting of two tides; as, the Portland Race; the Race of Alderney. [1913 Webster]
6. The current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel in which it flows; a mill race. [1913 Webster]
Note: The part of the channel above the wheel is sometimes called the headrace, the part below, the tailrace. [1913 Webster]
7. (Mach.) A channel or guide along which a shuttle is driven back and forth, as in a loom, sewing machine, etc. [1913 Webster]
{Race cloth}, a cloth worn by horses in racing, having pockets to hold the weights prescribed.
{Race course}. (a) The path, generally circular or elliptical, over which a race is run. (b) Same as {Race way}, below.
{Race cup}, a cup given as a prize to the victor in a race.
{Race glass}, a kind of field glass.
{Race horse}. (a) A horse that runs in competition; specifically, a horse bred or kept for running races. (b) A breed of horses remarkable for swiftness in running. (c) (Zo["o]l.) The steamer duck. (d) (Zo["o]l.) A mantis.
{Race knife}, a cutting tool with a blade that is hooked at the point, for marking outlines, on boards or metals, as by a pattern, -- used in shipbuilding.
{Race saddle}, a light saddle used in racing.
{Race track}. Same as {Race course} (a), above.
{Race way}, the canal for the current that drives a water wheel. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
