relay race

American

noun

Sports.

a race between two or more teams of contestants, each contestant being relieved by a teammate after running part of the distance.

relay race British

noun

a race between two or more teams of contestants in which each contestant covers a specified portion of the distance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of relay race

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We're in a relay race, and we're not successful until the next missions are successful."

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

The annual relay race involves 10,000 runners from law enforcement agencies across the country who work together in teams to traverse 120 miles.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2025

Great Britain won a third triathlon medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday after a dramatic finish to an exhilarating mixed relay race.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2024

“Can they be one of those teams in the relay race that sprints to the tape in the fourth leg, somebody handed them the baton five or six games ago and now they’re running?”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024

From then on Sadako thought of only one thing—the relay race.

From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023