In order to know the meaning of the term arms race, it is necessary, first of all, to discover the etymological origin of the words that give it shape:
-Carrera, in the first place, derives from Latin. Specifically, it emanates from “carraira”, which means “carriageway” and which, in turn, comes from “carrus”, which is synonymous with “carriage”.
-Arms, secondly, also derived from Latin. In his case of “weapon”, which was the term with which the Romans referred to what were their “instruments of war.”

According to DigoPaul, the idea of an arms race, arms race or arms race is used to refer to the competition that arises between countries trying to develop weapons and the most powerful armies. It is an interaction that has real but also symbolic effects.

Two states starting an arms race will strengthen their armed forces and increase their firepower: these are objective and concrete data. But in addition to these advances, they will also exert an influence that is linked to pressure, intimidation and the demonstration of superiority.

In the framework of an arms race, each action usually generates a reaction. Suppose that country X announces the development of a missile capable of hitting a target located 4,000 kilometers away. Its competitor, Nation Y, claims months later that it has a missile that can hit a target 5,000 kilometers away. This novelty will motivate a new measure of country X and so on.

A typical example of an arms race was what happened in the so-called Cold War, which began after World War II and lasted until the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In the framework of the Cold War, the United States and the USSR faced each other in the political, economic and cultural fields, without reaching military attacks. The arms race was a very important component of this dispute: both powers multiplied their weapons and combat vehicles. With the end of the Cold War, that competition came to an end.

In the same way, it is also considered that the First World War was a true arms race. And it is that the states participating in it not only began to invest more in weapons but also significantly increased their production. Not to mention that it is precisely for that reason that England managed to shape the first tank or battle car.

At present it is established that the arms race has become a nuclear race. And it is that both the United States and Russia continue to take great steps in favor of modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Of course, various measures have been taken and signed to keep those aforementioned advances and weapons under control that could generate a great catastrophe worldwide due to their power and scope. We are referring, above all, to nuclear warheads and so-called tactical bombs.