Meaning & use
race
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Meanings
nouncountable
A contest in which competitors try to be the first to cover a set distance or complete a set course.
Grammar: Used with an or the: a race, the race; often followed by of or for to say what kind.
Patterns
- a race against someone
- a race to something
- win a race
- a race for something
Maya won the two-mile race by almost ten seconds.
Hundreds of runners lined up at the start of the race.
The boat race attracts crowds along the river every spring.
nouncountablefigurative
A situation in which people or groups compete to reach a goal first or gain an advantage, not necessarily in sport.
Grammar: Usually has a purpose phrase: a race to find a cure, the race for votes.
Patterns
- a race to do something
- a race for something
- a race against time
Rescuers were in a race against time to reach the trapped hikers.
Several companies are in a race to develop a cheaper battery.
The race for the mayor's office tightened in the final week.
nouncountable or uncountable
One of the groups into which people are often divided according to shared physical features such as skin color, a social idea rather than a clear biological division.
Grammar: Countable when it names a group (people of every race); uncountable when speaking generally (discrimination based on race).
Patterns
- people of every race
- discrimination on grounds of race
- race and ethnicity
The law forbids employers from treating applicants differently because of race.
Students of every race and background joined the march.
The survey asked about age, gender and race.
verbintransitive
To move or travel very fast, or to hurry to get somewhere or do something quickly.
Grammar: No object; often followed by a direction word: race to the door, race through the work.
Patterns
- race to somewhere
- race to do something
- race through something
The children raced down the hill toward the beach.
My heart raced as I opened the envelope.
We raced to the station but missed the train.
verbtransitive
To compete against someone in a speed contest, or to enter an animal or vehicle in a contest.
Grammar: Takes an object: race a friend, race a horse.
Patterns
- race someone to something
- race something
- race someone for something
I'll race you to the end of the pier.
She has raced the same horse for three seasons.
He used to race motorbikes on weekends.
Word forms
| plural | races |
|---|---|
| third person singular | races |
| past tense | raced |
| past participle | raced |
| -ing form | racing |
Common combinations
- win a race
- Our school team won the relay race for the first time.
- close race
- It was a close race, and the judges needed a photo to pick the winner.
- race against time
- Doctors were in a race against time to find a donor.
- race relations
- The teacher led a discussion on race relations in the city's history.
- race to the finish
- The two cyclists raced to the finish side by side.
- presidential race
- The presidential race dominated the news for months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contest
- Contest is broader than race because it need not involve speed; a baking contest has no course or finish line.
- dash
- Dash as a noun is a short, quick run or a sprint, while race can be any distance and is organized against others.
- rush
- As a verb, rush stresses hurrying under pressure, whereas race suggests speed and often competition or excitement.
- competition
- Competition is the general word for people trying to beat each other and does not tell you the winner is whoever is fastest.
Opposites
Word family
- racer noun
- a person, animal or vehicle that takes part in races
- racing noun
- the sport or activity of holding races
- racial adjective
- relating to the human groups called races
- racism noun
- unfair treatment of or hatred toward people because of their race
- racist adjective
- showing unfair prejudice against people of another race
Commonly confused: race or rice? race or raise?
race vs rice
Rice is the grain you eat; race is a contest or a group of people. They differ in the vowel and final sound.
race vs raise
Raise means to lift or increase something and ends in a /z/ sound, while race ends in /s/.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'race' as a verb meaning to hurry?
Choose one answer.
Only 'raced across the yard' is a verb meaning to move fast. The other options use race as a noun for a contest or a group.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “race”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.