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