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PlainSpell

race

/ɹeɪs/noun, verb

race is spelled R-A-C-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, race means “A contest between people, animals, vehicles, etc. where the goal is to be the first to reach some objective” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of race is races.

How many letters and syllables are in race?

Letters4: R-A-C-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing120 times per million words; the 873rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is race?

Race appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce race?

  • US /ɹeɪs/

Race has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-race.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with race

Also written: raze.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with race?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as race from its last stressed vowel (/eɪs/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: care, acre, acer, caer.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of race

  • races plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • racing participle, present
  • raced participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • rase
  • rac-

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does race mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A contest between people, animals, vehicles, etc. where the goal is to be the first to reach some objective.

    Several horses ran in a horse race: the first one to reach the finishing post won.

  2. 2

    Swift progress; rapid motion; an instance of moving or driving at high speed.

  3. 3

    A race condition; a bug or problem that occurs when two or more components attempt to use the same resource at the same time.

  4. 4

    A sequence of events; a progressive movement toward a goal.

  5. 5

    A fast-moving current of water.

  6. 6

    A water channel, especially one built to lead water to or from a point where it is utilised, such as that which powers a millwheel.

  7. 7

    A path that something or someone moves along.

  8. 8

    A groove on a sewing machine or a loom along which the shuttle moves.

  9. 9

    A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.

    The Canadian race is one of the most vigorous on the globe.

  10. 10

    A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of common physical characteristics, such as skin color or hair type.

    Race was a significant issue during apartheid in South Africa.

  11. 11

    A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of shared characteristics or qualities, for example social qualities.

    The advent of the Internet has brought about a new race of entrepreneur.

  12. 12

    A large group of nonhumans distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.

    A treaty was concluded between the race of elves and the race of men.

  13. 13

    A group of organisms distinguished by common characteristics; often an informal infraspecific rank in taxonomy, below species

  14. 14

    A population geographically separated from others of its species that develops significantly different characteristics; a mating group.

  15. 15

    A strain of plant with characteristics causing it to differ from other plants of the same species.

  16. 16

    A breed or strain of domesticated animal.

  17. 17

    A rhizome or root, especially of ginger.

verb

  1. 1

    To take part in a race (in the sense of a contest).

    The drivers were racing around the track.

  2. 2

    To compete against in a race (contest).

    I raced him to the car, but he was there first, so he got to ride shotgun.

  3. 3

    To move or drive at high speed; to hurry or speed.

    As soon as it was time to go home, he raced for the door.

  4. 4

    To run rapidly when not engaged to a transmission.

  5. 5

    To assign a race to; to perceive as having a (usually specified) race.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo pass down certain phenotypic traits to offspring.

  7. 7

    archaicTo sharpen (a grindstone) by scraping its surface.

  8. 8

    To cut, scratch, or tear (someone or something) with a sharp object; to lacerate, to slash; specifically (nautical), to make marks on (something, such as a piece of wood) using a race knife.

  9. 9

    obsoleteTo level or tear down (a building, a town, etc.) to the ground; to demolish.

  10. 10

    obsoleterareTo make (a path or way) through something by cutting or tearing.

  11. 11

    obsoleteTo make a cut or slash in (an item of clothing or footwear) as a decoration.

  12. 12

    obsoleteTo alter (a document) by erasing parts of it.

  13. 13

    obsoleteTo erase (a record, text, etc.), originally by scraping; to rub out, to scratch out.

  14. 14

    obsoleteTo completely remove (someone or something), especially from a place, a situation, etc.; also, to remove from existence; to destroy, to obliterate.

  15. 15

    obsoleteTo pluck or snatch (something); also, to pull (something).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Race in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcourse (contest), s'élancer (to move or drive at high speed), race (a large group of people distinguished from…)
GermanRennen, Wettrennen (contest), rasen (to move or drive at high speed), Rasse, Geschlecht (a large group of people distinguished from…)
Portuguesecorrida (contest), linhagem (a large group of people distinguished from…), correr (to take part in a race), raça (a group of sentient beings distinguished by…), categoria (a group of organisms distinguished by common…), subespécie (a population geographically separated from…)
Spanishcarrera (contest), acelerarse, embalarse, carrerear (to move or drive at high speed), correr, rolear (to take part in a race)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does race come from?

From Middle English race, partially from Old English rǣs (“a race, swift or violent running, rush, onset”), from Proto-West Germanic *rās; and partially from Old Norse rás (“a running, race”); both from Proto-Germanic *rēsō (“a course”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁s- (“to flow, rush”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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