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plural races
1
a
see usage paragraph below:any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer … to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual … because of such individual'srace, color, religion, sex, or national origin …—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, United States Code
… family trees made more complicated by the intersection of differentraces …—Michael A. Chaney
First, the [2020 US Census] question [aboutrace] is based on how you identify. Second, therace categories generally reflect social definitions in the U.S. and are not an attempt to definerace biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. We recognize that therace categories include racial and national origins and sociocultural groups.—United States Census Bureau
To the extent that economic opportunity is expanded,race relations are improved.—Tom McClintock
also:the fact of dividing people, or of people being divided, into such groups:categorization by race
The Army will remove photographs of candidates in promotion board hearings … as part of an effort to address why so many black officers are being passed over in favor of their white counterparts … . The removal of photos by the military's largest service is a tacit acknowledgment of how muchrace still plays a part in decisions about who should advance.—Helene Cooper
The U.S. is going through a social and political upheaval, offering an opportunity to undertake a necessary, hard look at the role ofrace in defining what kind of a nation the U.S. is now and has been historically.—William C. Danvers
Even when a new show promises to break new ground … we are forced to swallow more of the same—a general erasure or ignorance ofrace.—Roxane Gay
b
dated:a group of people sharing a common cultural, geographical, linguistic, or religious origin or background
The Yorkshire type had always been the strongest of the British strains; the Norwegian and the Dane were a differentrace from the Saxon.—Henry Adams
… this girl, Dolores by name, and a Catalonian byrace …—Charlotte Brontë
c
archaic:the descendants of a common ancestor:a group sharing a common lineage
… by descent I am the head not only of my ownrace, which ends with me, but of the Haughton family …—Edward Bulwer-Lytton
This forest was adjacent to the chief haunts of the MacGregors, or a particularrace of them, known by the title of MacEagh …—Sir Walter Scott
2
a
:a group of living things considered as a category
… the wholerace of mankind … stumbling and blundering along the path of life …—Anne Brontë
… Nan denounced the entirerace of boys as "plaguey things."—Louisa May Alcott
… countless asters, … tansies, golden-rods, and the wholerace of yellow flowers …—Henry David Thoreau
… full many a man loves his dog better than the rest of mankind, and so the devotion of therace of dogs finds return and recompense.—Wardon Allan Curtis
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in a sci-fi thriller set in the near future, when an alienrace has attacked Earth.—Barbara Vancheri
When the last century ended, humans could not even fly. In the 20th century,the human race went to the moon and began to explore the stars.—SFGATE.com
b
archaic:breed
Under these conditions, arace of highly … delicate, and gentle cattle had been developed.—Henry E. Alvord
c
obsolete:the act of breeding or producing offspring
Male he created thee, but thy consort female forrace …—John Milton
It behooveth therefore that the Mares appointed forrace, be well compacted, of a decent quality, … in age not under three nor above ten years old.—Edward Topsell
3
biology:a group within a species that is distinguishable (as morphologically, genetically, or behaviorally) from others of the same species
This quail species is diverse and can be classified into 21 recognized geographicraces in North America …—Eric T. Thacker and Tim L. Springer
also:a usually informal taxonomic category representing such a group that is often considered equivalent to a subspecies
4
archaic:a group of people sharing some habit or characteristic (such as profession or belief)
… the wholerace of politicians put together.—Jonathan Swift
The Apostles, though they were fishers too, were of the solemnrace of sea-fishers …—Henry David Thoreau
… therace of domestic clowns or jesters, maintained in the houses of the wealthy …—Sir Walter Scott
… to become a Dissenter seemed to him identical with choosing God instead of mammon. Thatrace of Dissenters is extinct in these days, when opinion has got far ahead of feeling …—George Eliot
… our daughters haunt the town as if searching for something they missed, walking up beside the rocks with books in their arms like arace of little nuns.—John Updike
5
obsolete:temperament,disposition
And now I give my sensualrace the rein …—William Shakespeare
Usage ofRace

Sense 1a of this entry describes the wordrace as it is most frequently used: to refer to the various groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits, these traits being regarded as common among people of a shared ancestry. This use ofrace dates to the late 18th century, and was for many years applied in scientific fields such asphysical anthropology, with race differentiation being based on such qualities as skin color, hair form, head shape, and particular sets of cranial dimensions. Advances in the field ofgenetics in the late 20th century determined no biological basis for races in this sense of the word, as all humans alive today share 99.99% of their genetic material. For this reason, the concept of distinct human races today has little scientific standing, and is instead understood as primarily a sociological designation, identifying a group sharing some outward physical characteristics and some commonalities of culture and history.

race

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural races
1
a
:a competition between people, animals, vehicles, etc., to determine which one is the fastest:a contest of speed
runners in arace
a bicyclerace
… only eight of the 26 cars that began therace were running at the end, through streets that were better suited to conveying rattletrap taxicabs than million-dollar race cars.—Sam Moses
b
:a contest or competition in which different people, groups, or teams try to win something or to do something first
a tightrace for governor
therace to create a vaccine
a baseball pennantrace
—often used figuratively to suggest that something (such as life itself) is like a contest or competition
… that form and substance of government whose leading object is to … afford all an unfettered start, and a fair chance in therace of life.—Abraham Lincoln
He discussed terms for publishing his book. But over his face was that gossamery look of having dropped out of therace of progress, which made the vulgar city people feel they had won it over him …—D. H. Lawrence
… men in therace of life, sink from the high and generous ideals of youth to the gambler's code of the Bourse; and in all our Nation's striving is not the Gospel of Work befouled by the Gospel of Pay?—W. E. B. Du Bois
In contemporary middle-class American culture, parenting is seen as an awesome responsibility, an unforgiving vigil to keep the helpless infant from falling behind in the greatrace of life.—Steven Pinker
c
races plural:an event at which there is a series of horse races
a trip to theraces
2
a
literary:a set course (such as the apparent movement of the sun along a path over the period of a day) or a duration of time
… Till a sun whoserace is ending / Sees the rival stars contending …—Edward Bulwer-Lytton
If the midnight bell / Did with his iron tongue and brazen mouth / Sound on into the drowsyrace of night—William Shakespeare
b
archaic:a person's progression through life or through a period in life
… voices from the great cloud of witnesses who ever surround us in therace of life.—Harriet Beecher Stowe
3
:a track or channel in which something rolls or slides
specifically:a groove for the balls in a ball bearing or rollers in a roller bearing
The bearing has alreadyspalled which is why it's making noise. No … additive can fix that, nor can it remove the particles of bearingrace and roller from the lube in your differential housing.—B. Howing
seeroller bearing illustration
4
a
:a strong or rapid current of water that flows through a narrow channel
b
:a watercourse used or made for an industrial purpose (such as mining or for turning the waterwheel of a mill)
Close to the furnace site today, on public park property, are the remains of the old facility's dam and waterrace.—Maryland Magazine

see alsoa race against time

race

3 of 3

verb

raced;racing

intransitive verb

1
:to compete in a race
2
:to go, move, or function at top speed or out of control
peopleracing for safety
struggled to sleep as his mindraced
3
:to revolve too fast under a diminished load

transitive verb

1
:to engage in a race with
2
a
:to enter in a race
b
:to drive or ride at high speed
c
:to transport or propel at maximum speed
3
:to speed (an engine) without a working load or with the transmission disengaged

Examples ofrace in a Sentence

Noun (2) the last descendent of arace of kings Winston Churchill's famous hope and prediction that World War II would be remembered by future generations as the finest hour of the Britannicrace Eight horses willrace for the cup. That horse will neverrace again. She's going torace the champion. Theyraced each other home. I'llrace you to see who gets there first. Sheraces cars for a living. The floodraced through the valley. The truck's engine wasracing. The dograced ahead of me.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.
Noun
Jockey Cristian Torres completed a daily three-bagger in his fourth stakes victory of the meeting, the first suchrace this season held on a sloppy track.—Bob Wisener,Arkansas Online, 15 Feb. 2026This particular piece puts an extreme spin on the classic 1960srace watch, incorporating a skeletonised dial, a hefty 44 mm case in titanium and rose gold, and both a chronograph and tourbillon.—Rachel Cormack,Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2026
Verb
Erin Jackson willrace for the United States today looking for a speedskating medal in the 500 meters.—Sean Nevin,NBC news, 15 Feb. 2026Tyler Reddick executed several last-lap passes amid a pair of wrecks andraced off with the win in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.—Alex Zietlow,Charlotte Observer, 15 Feb. 2026See All Example Sentences forrace

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle French, generation, from Old Italianrazza

Noun (2)

Middle Englishras, from Old Norserās; akin to Old Englishrǣs rush

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1547, in the meaning defined atsense 1c

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined atsense 2b

Verb

1671, in the meaning defined atintransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use ofrace was in the 15th century

Cite this Entry

“Race.”Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/race. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

race

1 of 3noun
1
:a strong or rapid current of water or its channel
2
a
:a contest of speed
b
:a contest involving progress toward a goal
therace for governor

race

2 of 3verb
raced;racing
1
:to take part in a race
2
:to go, move, or function at top speed
peopleracing for safety
a heartracing from excitement
3
:to take part in a race against
I'llrace you home
4
:to cause the engine of a motor vehicle to go fast especially when in neutral

race

3 of 3noun
1
:a group of living things considered as a category
the humanrace
2
archaic:breed
3
:a group of people who share a common culture or history
the Englishrace
—used especially in the past
4
:any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits or ancestry
people of differentraces
also:categorization into such groups
Etymology

Noun

Middle Englishras "the act of running, a rapid current of water," of Norse origin

Noun

from early Frenchrace "generation," from early Italianrazza (same meaning)

Medical Definition

race

noun
1
:a group within a species that is distinguishable (as morphologically, genetically, or behaviorally) from others of the same species
This quail species is diverse and can be classified into 21 recognized geographicraces in North America …—Eric T. Thacker and Tim L. Springer
also:a usually informal taxonomic category representing such a group that is often considered equivalent to a subspecies
2
:any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry

More from Merriam-Webster onrace

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