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
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The Santor scam, which plays into the global arms race around tax incentives, shines a klieg light on the often opaque realm of film finance. Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025 Naturally, the arms race is on. Nina Bambysheva, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025 In Texas — the state that started this recent gerrymandering arms race — recent redistricting efforts have been accused of racial gerrymandering, disenfranchising Latino and Black voters to protect GOP incumbents. Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025 The bombs killed about 110,000 people instantly and helped set in motion the Cold War-era arms race in which the US and the Soviet Union, as well as Britain, France and China, all scrambled to develop ever more powerful nuclear weapons. Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arms race

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arms race was in 1921

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Cite this Entry

“Arms race.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arms%20race. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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