arms race

noun

: a race between hostile nations to accumulate or develop weapons

broadly : an ever escalating race or competition

Examples of arms race in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are still plenty of questions about Alphabet’s strategy in the AI arms race. — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 27 June 2026

While the current situation is dire, a study in Nature this week reports a compelling discovery that not only points to a potentially new antibiotic regimen, but also an entirely new strategy to once again get ahead in the microbial arms race. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 June 2026

Russia, which only takes payment for weapons in advance, according to Baldo, is also enjoying the arms race between the rival military factions. — Janine Di Giovanni, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026

An arms race logic, in his view, forecloses exactly the kind of cooperative governance that could prevent catastrophe. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for arms race

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase