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race car

race car

29 2.7
A very fast car built to compete in events on a track
  • noun
  • /reɪs kɑr/
translation icon : coche de carreras
  • He dreams of driving a race car at the famous Daytona International Speedway.
  • race car design

We've got we've got some race cars, old dirt track cars.

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Examples

  • The new race car was designed for high speed and optimal performance on the track.

  • Ladies and gentlemen, we are honoured tonight to have in our presence the world's greatest living race car driver, here in Cuba for the first Havana Grand Prix.

  • And I used to draw a lot and I used to draw race cars a lot.

  • I know he had a race car, but...

  • Get him a race car.

  • I wanna find that race car.

  • What do you feel your team has done to set your race cars apart from the rest?

    Academic text (2008)
  • Objects in the other group included a race car and two wooden houses.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The move from designing parts for race cars to actual race car design can't be easy.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The spoiler keeps a race car's wheels on the ground.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

racecar
vsrace car
15 2.8

A very fast car built to race on tracks

is the same meaning but written as two words in some forms
racer
vsrace car
13 2.8

A fast car built specially to compete on a track

emphasizes engineered design and higher performance over mere speed
racing car
vsrace car
7 2.8

A car built to go very fast on tracks in sports competitions

stresses engineered design and special components rather than handling
stock car
vsrace car
  • Jargon
6 3.9

A racing car made from a regular car and changed for speed and safety

refers to purpose built competition vehicles not based on commercial models

How Fast

race car
29 2.7
sports car
50 2.8
minivan
  • US
80 1.9

Surface Forms

race car singular
race cars plural

Morphology

race + car

The meaning 'a car designed for competing in races' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'race' (contest) with 'car' (vehicle); the compound simply denotes a car for racing. This noun+noun composition is a common, compositional pattern in English (and many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The compound noun race car comes from the simple idea of a car made for a race. People built special cars to compete in races, so it now means 'a car built for motor racing'.