race horse
    n 1: a horse bred for racing [syn: racehorse, race horse,
         bangtail]

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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Esp., swift progress; rapid course; a running.
      [1913 Webster]

            The flight of many birds is swifter than the race of
            any beasts.                           --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

            The race is not to the swift.         --Eccl. ix.
                                                  11.
      [1913 Webster]

            I wield the gauntlet, and I run the race. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Competitive action of any kind, especially when prolonged;
      hence, career; course of life.
      [1913 Webster]

            My race of glory run, and race of shame. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. The current of water that turns a water wheel, or the
      channel in which it flows; a mill race.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: The part of the channel above the wheel is sometimes
         called the headrace, the part below, the tailrace.
         [1913 Webster]

   7. (Mach.) A channel or guide along which a shuttle is driven
      back and forth, as in a loom, sewing machine, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

Steamer \Steam"er\ (-[~e]r), n.
   1. A vessel propelled by steam; a steamship or steamboat.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A steam fire engine. See under Steam.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A road locomotive for use on common roads, as in
      agricultural operations.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A vessel in which articles are subjected to the action of
      steam, as in washing, in cookery, and in various processes
      of manufacture.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Zool.) The steamer duck.
      [1913 Webster]

   Steamer duck (Zool.), a sea duck (Tachyeres cinereus),
      native of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego, which swims and
      dives with great agility, but which, when full grown, is
      incapable of flight, owing to its very small wings. Called
      also loggerhead, race horse, and side-wheel duck.
      [1913 Webster]