boat race
4
2.3
- noun
- /boʊt reɪs/
:
regata
- The event culminates on Father's Day with a 26.7-mile boat race from Salida to Cotopaxi.
- dragon boat race
Examples
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I knew there'd be a boat race going by with purple and white shirts.
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And though the river had given the town its prosperity, boat racing had given it her identity, having hosted the first professional boat race in the United States.
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What a lovely little boat race.
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With us it's more than just a boat race.
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But the boat races are Saturday, and you said I could go.
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I like boat races.
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Holding a four-length lead, Cal and Navy are in a two-boat race.
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Don't forget Glen Cove and the boat races.
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It's a three-boat race.
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I was in a boat race yesterday, and we're challenging the results.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A contest to see who is fastest or finishes first
1
3.5
A race where people sail yachts around a set course
1
3.9
A contest where crews compete in sailing boats around a set course
How Competitive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'boat' (a small watercraft) + 'race' (a contest to see who finishes first): a contest involving boats. This noun-noun compounding is a transparent, cross-linguistically common pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand.
Etymology
The compound boat race comes from the simple picture of two or more boats racing along a river while people cheer from the banks. So it means 'a sporting competition' where people row or drive boats to be 'fastest'.