steeplechase
/ˈstiːpəltʃeɪs/
steeplechase means A horse race, either across open country, or over an obstacle course. It carries an Arena rating of 1459, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, steeplechase ranks #126 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words, #265 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #659 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,205 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words.
steeplechase is pronounced /ˈstiːpəltʃeɪs/.
Why “steeplechase” is a great word
A horse race over a course of natural or artificial obstacles, or an athletics event in which runners race around a track while clearing hurdles and a water jump. Compound of 'steeple' (a church tower) and 'chase' (pursuit), from 18th-century Irish horse races where riders navigated cross-country using a church steeple as a visible landmark; first recorded in 1793. Unlike hurdling, with its uniform, lightweight barriers on a flat track, or cross-country, a pure run over open terrain, the steeplechase is a deliberate, constructed ordeal of mixed adversity. It is the dull thud of hooves on turf, the splash and spray of the water jump, the straining arc over a brush fence—a ritualized pursuit of a fixed point, long after the original steeple has vanished from view.
Etymology
Compound of steeple + chase, from horse races in 18th century Ireland in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple.
noun
- A horse race, either across open country, or over an obstacle course.
- An athletics event in which the runners have to run 3000 metres round a track, jumping hurdles and a water obstacle along the way.
verb
- To take part in a steeplechase event.
Words closest in meaning
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