racehorse

racehorse — noun

1. Any horse raised specifically to take part in speed races on a track

1.nounB1
Definition

Any horse raised specifically to take part in speed races on a track

Example

Maeve watched her favourite racehorse thunder down the final stretch at the county track.

collocation: thunder down the stretch

The old racehorse spent his retirement grazing in a sunny field behind the stable.

Common collocations
  • train a racehorse
  • own a racehorse
  • champion racehorse
  • retired racehorse
  • racehorse breeder
  • racehorse trainer
Synonyms
  • thoroughbred

    refers to a specific breed; often used loosely for any racehorse, though technically not all racehorses are Thoroughbreds

  • racer

    informal shortening that can also refer to a person, car, or boat

  • runner

    rare for horses; much more common for people in athletic contexts

Usage Note

Common in discussions of breeding, training, and betting; often shortened to 'horse' in racing contexts when the meaning is clear.

Common Mistakes

That's a fast race horse.
That's a fast racehorse.
'racehorse' is a single compound word, not two separate words.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Racehorse is the general term for any horse bred and trained to compete in speed races. Thoroughbred refers specifically to a breed that originated in 18th-century England from Arabian stallions and is the most common breed in professional racing — but not every racehorse is a pure Thoroughbred. Racer is an informal, broader word that can describe a person, car, boat, or bicycle built for speed, so it is less precise when talking about horses. Runner is even vaguer: it almost always means a person in athletic running events. If you want to be clear that you mean a horse, use racehorse; if you need breed precision, use thoroughbred.

racehorse ↗thoroughbredracer ↗runner ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • bred for racing
  • trained for the track

Etymology

Old NorseOld EnglishEnglish

Racehorse is a compound word formed in the 1600s from 'race' (a contest of speed, from Old Norse rás meaning 'a running') and 'horse' (from Old English hors, a hoofed four-legged animal used for riding). The word has stayed close to its literal meaning ever since — a horse that runs in races.