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Grand Prix

Grand Prix

28 4.7
An important car race like a Formula One event
  • noun
  • /ɡrænd priː/
: gran premio
  • She won the Grand Prix last year.
  • cars at the Grand Prix
  • Grand Prix Challenge

It's the most iconic Grand Prix race and circuit in the world.

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Examples

  • Sebastian Vettel won the Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit a year ago.

    Blog text (23)
  • The American Racing Grand Prix is just moments away from starting.

  • Will you be running in the Grand Prix this weekend?

  • Hi, everybody, and welcome to the Pride Grand Prix 2000 opening round.

  • But this is his first visit to a Grand Prix circuit.

  • We're watching the Detroit Grand Prix.

  • It's the most iconic Grand Prix race and circuit in the world.

  • Well, he is racing in the Monaco Grand Prix tomorrow.

  • Nico Rosberg took a commanding victory at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today.

    Blog text (23)
  • Will you be running in the Grand Prix this weekend?

Synonyms

car race
vsGrand Prix
4 2.2

A competition where cars race to cross the finish line first

is a high profile international championship event rather than a single competition
auto race
vsGrand Prix
  • US
1 2.7

A competition where cars drive fast to reach the finish first

is an international championship event focusing on prestige rather than only speed
automobile race
vsGrand Prix
1 3.0

A competition where fast cars race on a closed track

is an international championship event rather than an ordinary competition

How Prestigious

Grand Prix
28 4.7
race
∞ 1.0
regional
29 3.3

Surface Forms

Grand Prix singular
Grand Prixs plural

Morphology

grand + Prix

“Grand Prix” is a fixed French borrowing whose literal parts ('grand' = large/great; 'prix' = prize/price) do not transparently yield the specific English meaning 'an important motor race'. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words might guess 'big prize' or an important award, but would not reliably infer the motor-racing sense, so the expression functions idiomatically in English.

Etymology

Grand Prix comes from French, where grand means 'big' and prix means 'prize'. Early car races offered a large 'prize' to the winner, so the name came to mean an important motor race today.