drag race

American  

noun

1. a race between two or more automobiles starting from a standstill, the winner being the car that can accelerate the fastest.

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drag race British  

noun

1. a type of motor race in which specially built or modified cars or motorcycles are timed over a measured course

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Other Word Forms

• drag racer
  noun
• drag racing
  noun

Etymology

Origin of drag race

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

They finished side by side in a straight drag race to the line.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

She’s won the drag race but now she shows every sign of winning the Indianapolis 500.

From Salon • Aug. 26, 2024

During an interview, Elon Musk, who looked like the ghost of a guy who died in a 1950s drag race, was asked if he was antisemitic and said that he was in fact philosemitic.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2023

Dwyre also remembers accompanying Glick to a drag race at Pomona Speedway.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2023

Blaney in his Ford for Team Penske and Harvick in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing finished essentially in a drag race with both drivers refusing to lift as a crash broke out behind them.

From Washington Times • Oct. 1, 2023