Dictionary

arms race en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑɹmz.ɹeɪs/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Meanings

1. A competition for military supremacy between two powers, especially for the most weapons and the best military technology.
   • Mr. Xi has made his intentions clear. He aims to achieve a “national rejuvenation” that would include displacing the United States as the dominant rule-setter in the region, controlling access to the South China Sea, and bringing Taiwan — a self-governing island that China sees as lost territory — under Beijing’s control. In response, many of China’s neighbors — and the United States — are turning to hard power, accelerating the most significant arms race in Asia since World War II. 2023 March 25, Damien Cave, “An Anxious Asia Arms for a War It Hopes to Prevent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2023:
2. (figuratively) Any similar competition that involves competing developments.
   • The cost of parasitism has provoked an evolutionary arms race between parasite and host, in which hosts evolve defences to avoid becoming victimized and parasites counterattack by evolving strategies to outwit their hosts. 2006, R.M. Kilner, “The evolution of egg colour and patterning in birds”, in Biological Reviews, volume 81, page 389, column 1:
   • ChatGPT's sudden popularity has triggered an arms race among the world's leading tech companies and start-ups that are rushing to obtain the H100, which Huang describes as “the world's first computer [chip]^([sic]) designed for generative AI”—artificial intelligence systems that can quickly create humanlike text, images and content. 2023 May 28, Tim Bradshaw, Richard Waters, “Nvidia reaps rewards from early lead in AI chipmaking”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14:

Forms

Translations (58)

sk preteky v zbrojení (a competition for military supremacy) · vi chạy đua vũ trang (a competition for military supremacy) · it corsa al riarmo (a competition for military supremacy) · pt corrida armamentista (a competition for military supremacy) · az silahlanma yarışı (a competition for military supremacy) · th การแข่งขันในทางอาวุธ (a competition for military supremacy) · lt ginklavimosi varžybos (a competition for military supremacy) · bg надпрева́ра във въоръжа́ването (a competition for military supremacy) · tg мусобиқаи таслиҳотӣ (a competition for military supremacy) · ka გამალებული შეიარაღება (a competition for military supremacy) · el ανταγωνισμός εξοπλισμών (a competition for military supremacy) · eo vetarmado (a competition for military supremacy) · fi kilpavarustelu (a competition for military supremacy) · pl wyścig zbrojeń (a competition for military supremacy) · lv bruņošanās sacensības (a competition for military supremacy) · ar سِبَاق تَسَلُّح (a competition for military supremacy) · hy սպառազինությունների մրցավազք (a competition for military supremacy) · fr course aux armements (a competition for military supremacy) · is vígbúnaðarkapphlaup (a competition for military supremacy) · cy ras arfau (a competition for military supremacy) · ru го́нка вооруже́ний (a competition for military supremacy) · uz qurollanish poygasi (a competition for military supremacy) · es carrera de armamentos (a competition for military supremacy) · kk қарулану жарысы (a competition for military supremacy) · he מירוץ חימוש (a competition for military supremacy) · ms perlumbaan senjata (a competition for military supremacy) · fo kappdubbing (a competition for military supremacy) · be го́нка ўзбрае́нняў (a competition for military supremacy) · nl wapenwedloop (a competition for military supremacy) · cmn 軍備競賽 /军备竞赛 (a competition for military supremacy) · ky жарыша куралдануу (a competition for military supremacy) · es carrera armamentista (a competition for military supremacy) · ca cursa armamentista (a competition for military supremacy) · ast carrera armamentista (a competition for military supremacy) · ja 軍拡競争 (a competition for military supremacy) · cs závody ve zbrojení (a competition for military supremacy) · tg мусаллаҳшавии бошитоб (a competition for military supremacy) · af wapenwedloop (a competition for military supremacy) · hi हथियारों की दौड़ (a competition for military supremacy) · hu fegyverkezési verseny (a competition for military supremacy) · ja 軍備拡張競争 (a competition for military supremacy) · de Rüstungswettlauf (a competition for military supremacy) · ro cursa înarmărilor (a competition for military supremacy) · uk перего́ни озбро́єнь (a competition for military supremacy) · pt corrida armamentícia (a competition for military supremacy) · it corsa agli armamenti (a competition for military supremacy) · tr silahlanma yarışı (a competition for military supremacy) · bg надпрева́рване във въоръжа́ването (a competition for military supremacy) · ko 군비 경쟁 (a competition for military supremacy) · eu armamentu lehia (a competition for military supremacy) · id perlombaan senjata (a competition for military supremacy) · eo armadkonkuro (a competition for military supremacy) · de Wettrüsten (a competition for military supremacy) · sv kapprustning (a competition for military supremacy) · et võidurelvastumine (a competition for military supremacy) · mk трка во вооружување (a competition for military supremacy) · fa مُسابِقِهٔ تَسْلیحاتی (a competition for military supremacy) · nb våpenkappløp (a competition for military supremacy)