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.
      
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   2. Esp., swift progress; rapid course; a running.
      
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            The flight of many birds is swifter than the race of
            any beasts.                           --Bacon.
      
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   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.
      
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            The race is not to the swift.         --Eccl. ix.
                                                  11.
      
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            I wield the gauntlet, and I run the race. --Pope.
      
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   4. Competitive action of any kind, especially when prolonged;
      hence, career; course of life.
      
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            My race of glory run, and race of shame. --Milton.
      
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   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.
      
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   6. The current of water that turns a water wheel, or the
      channel in which it flows; a mill race.
      
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   Note: The part of the channel above the wheel is sometimes
         called the headrace, the part below, the tailrace.
         
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   7. (Mach.) A channel or guide along which a shuttle is driven
      back and forth, as in a loom, sewing machine, etc.
      
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   {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) (Zool.) The steamer duck.
      (d) (Zool.) 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.
      
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