1. [n]  a canal for a current of water
2. [n]  a contest of speed; "the race is to the swift"
3. [n]  any competition; "the race for the presidency"
4. [n]  people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock; "some biologists doubt that there are important genetic differences between races of human beings"
5. [n]  (biology) a taxonomic group that is a division of a species; usually arises as a consequence of geographical isolation within a species
6. [n]  the flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller
7. [v]  compete in a race; "he is running the Marathon this year"; "let's race and see who gets there first"
8. [v]  step on it; "He rushed down the hall to receive his guests"; "The cars raced down the street"
9. [v]  cause to move fast or to rush or race; "The psychologist raced the rats through a long maze"
10. [v]  to work as fast as possible towards a goal, sometimes in competition with others; "We are racing to find a cure for AIDS"

Race
The author of American Dreams: Lost and Found and other works presents the opinions of nearly one hundred Americans as they discuss affirmative action, changing neighborhoods, and other race issues. Reprint. PW. NYT.

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1. \Race\, v. t.
   To raze. [Obs.] --Spenser.
   

2. \Race\, n. [OF. ra["i]z, L. radix, -icis. See {Radix}.]
   A root. ``A race or two of ginger.'' --Shak.
   {Race ginger}, ginger in the root, or not pulverized.
   

3. \Race\, n. [F. race; cf. Pr. & Sp. raza, It. razza; all
   from OHG. reiza line, akin to E. write. See {Write}.]
   1. The descendants of a common ancestor; a family, tribe,
      people, or nation, believed or presumed to belong to the
      same stock; a lineage; a breed.
            The whole race of mankind.            --Shak.
            Whence the long race of Alban fathers come.
                                                  --Dryden.
   Note: Naturalists and ehnographers divide mankind into
         several distinct varieties, or races. Cuvier refers
         them all to three, Pritchard enumerates seven, Agassiz
         eight, Pickering describes eleven. One of the common
         classifications is that of Blumenbach, who makes five
         races: the Caucasian, or white race, to which belong
         the greater part of the European nations and those of
         Western Asia; the Mongolian, or yellow race, occupying
         Tartary, China, Japan, etc.; the Ethiopian, or negro
         race, occupying most of Africa (except the north),
         Australia, Papua, and other Pacific Islands; the
         American, or red race, comprising the Indians of North
         and South America; and the Malayan, or brown race,
         which occupies the islands of the Indian Archipelago,
         etc. Many recent writers classify the Malay and
         American races as branches of the Mongolian. See
         Illustration in Appendix.
   2. Company; herd; breed.
            For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of
            youthful and unhandled colts, Fetching mad bounds.
                                                  --Shak.
   3. (Bot.) A variety of such fixed character that it may be
      propagated by seed.
   4. Peculiar flavor, taste, or strength, as of wine; that
      quality, or assemblage of qualities, which indicates
      origin or kind, as in wine; hence, characteristic flavor;
      smack. ``A race of heaven.'' --Shak.
            Is it [the wine] of the right race ?  --Massinqer.
   5. Hence, characteristic quality or disposition. [Obs.]
            And now I give my sensual race the rein. --Shak.
            Some . . . great race of fancy or judgment. --Sir W.
                                                  Temple.
   Syn: Lineage; line; family; house; breed; offspring; progeny;
        issue.
   

4. \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.
   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) (Zo["o]l.) The steamer duck.
      (d) (Zo["o]l.) 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.
   

5. \Race\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Raced}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Racing}.]
   1. To run swiftly; to contend in a race; as, the animals
      raced over the ground; the ships raced from port to port.
   2. (Steam Mach.) To run too fast at times, as a marine engine
      or screw, when the screw is lifted out of water by the
      action of a heavy sea.
   

6. \Race\, v. t.
   1. To cause to contend in race; to drive at high speed; as,
      to race horses.
   2. To run a race with.
   

Requirements Acquisition and Controlled Evolution.