arms race

noun

1. competition between countries to achieve superiority in quantity and quality of military arms.

arms race

noun

1. the continuing competitive attempt by two or more nations each to have available to it more and more powerful weapons than the other(s)

Word History and Origins

Origin of arms race¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Perhaps more significantly, it would anger China and possibly lead to a regional arms race.

From Los Angeles Times

High-tech foams, carbon plates and pressurised airbags have combined in the soles of the latest shoes to return more energy to athletes, sparking an arms race among manufacturers.

From BBC

The United States is leading the way in the nuclear arms race.

From Salon

Rather than solving the problems raised by employers’ methods, however, the use of automated job-hunting only served to set off an AI arms race that has no obvious conclusion.

From Salon

Historian Lawrence S. Wittner, author of “Confronting the Bomb,” warned in July that “Trump was far less interested in arms control and disarmament than in entering ― and winning ― a new nuclear arms race.”

From Los Angeles Times