Library / English Dictionary

RACE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A canal for a current of water

Synonyms:

race; raceway

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

canal (long and narrow strip of water made for boats or for irrigation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A contest of speed

Example:

the race is to the swift

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

competition; contest (an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "race"):

repechage (a race (especially in rowing) in which runners-up in the eliminating heats compete for a place in the final race)

relay; relay race (a race between teams; each member runs or swims part of the distance)

ski race; skiing race (a race between people wearing skis)

scratch race (a race in which all contestants start from scratch (on equal terms))

sack race (a novelty race in which competitors jump ahead with their feet confined in a sack)

potato race (a novelty race in which competitors move potatoes from one place to another one at a time)

horse race (a contest of speed between horses; usually held for the purpose of betting)

heat (a preliminary race in which the winner advances to a more important race)

cross country (a long race run over open country)

freestyle (a race (as in swimming) in which each contestant has a free choice of the style to use)

foot race; footrace; run (a race run on foot)

dog racing (a race between dogs; usually an occasion for betting on the outcome)

chariot race (a race between ancient chariots)

burnup (a high-speed motorcycle race on a public road)

boat race (a race between people rowing or driving boats)

bicycle race; bike race (a race between people riding bicycles)

auto race; automobile race; car race (a race between (usually high-performance) automobiles)

Derivation:

race (compete in a race)

racy (designed or suitable for competing in a race)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any competition

Example:

the race for the presidency

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

competition; contest (an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "race"):

campaign; political campaign; run (a race between candidates for elective office)

arms race (a competition between nations to have the most powerful armaments)

Derivation:

race (compete in a race)

Sense 4

Meaning:

People who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock

Example:

some biologists doubt that there are important genetic differences between races of human beings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

group; grouping (any number of entities (members) considered as a unit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "race"):

Herrenvolk; master race (a race that considers itself superior to all others and fitted to rule the others)

Derivation:

racial (of or related to genetically distinguished groups of people)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(biology) a taxonomic group that is a division of a species; usually arises as a consequence of geographical isolation within a species

Synonyms:

race; subspecies

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

taxon; taxonomic category; taxonomic group (animal or plant group having natural relations)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller

Synonyms:

airstream; backwash; race; slipstream; wash

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("race" is a kind of...):

flow (any uninterrupted stream or discharge)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Compete in a race

Example:

let's race and see who gets there first

Synonyms:

race; run

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "race" is one way to...):

compete; contend; vie (compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "race"):

show (finish third or better in a horse or dog race)

place (finish second or better in a horse or dog race)

boat-race (participate in a boat race)

horse-race (compete in a horse race)

campaign; run (run, stand, or compete for an office or a position)

speed skate (race on skates)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

These cars won't race

Derivation:

race (a contest of speed)

race (any competition)

racer (an animal that races)

racer (a fast car that competes in races)

racing (the sport of engaging in contests of speed)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move hurridly

Example:

The cars raced down the street

Synonyms:

belt along; bucket along; cannonball along; hasten; hie; hotfoot; pelt along; race; rush; rush along; speed; step on it

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "race" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "race"):

barge; push forward; thrust ahead (push one's way)

buck; charge; shoot; shoot down; tear (move quickly and violently)

dart; dash; flash; scoot; scud; shoot (run or move very quickly or hastily)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They race up the hill

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to move fast or to rush or race

Example:

The psychologist raced the rats through a long maze

Synonyms:

race; rush

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "race" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They race the car down the avenue

Derivation:

racer (someone who drives racing cars at high speeds)

Sense 4

Meaning:

To work as fast as possible towards a goal, sometimes in competition with others

Example:

We are racing to find a cure for AIDS

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "race" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Credits

 Context examples: 

These factors included age, having an older spouse or children in the home, race, socioeconomic status, calories consumed, and physical activity.

(Sleeping with artificial light at night associated with weight gain in women, National Institutes of Health)

It is a race of dead men and dead dogs.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Would not a life devoted to the task of regenerating your race be well spent?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It was strange to see Jim with his uncle and his aunt, for he seemed to be of another race and breed to them.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They will not be led by any save their own blood and race.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It might do very well; she believed she should accept him; and she began accordingly to interest herself a little about the horse which he had to run at the B— races.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Individuals who do not necessarily identify with any particular race or others who do not wish to self select into a racial category(ies).

(Other Race, NCI Thesaurus)

Patient Health Questionnaire - 15 (PHQ-15) Feeling your heart pound or race.

(PHQ-15 - Feeling Your Heart Pound or Race, NCI Thesaurus)

My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He paused and went on in a hollow voice:—"They are racing for the sunset. We may be too late. God's will be done!"

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)