rival
Americannoun
-
rivals
plural
-
a person who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to equal or outdo another; competitor.
- Synonyms:
- antagonist, adversary, emulator, opponent
- Antonyms:
- ally
-
a person or thing that is in a position to dispute another's preeminence or superiority.
a stadium without a rival.
-
Obsolete. a companion in duty.
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
rivals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rivaled,
past participle, past
-
rivalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
rivaling,
present participle
-
rivalling
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
rivals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rivaled,
past participle, past
-
rivalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
rivaling,
present participle
-
rivalling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
-
a person, organization, team, etc, that competes with another for the same object or in the same field
-
( as modifier )
rival suitors
a rival company
-
-
a person or thing that is considered the equal of another or others
she is without rival in the field of economics
verb
-
to be the equal or near equal of
an empire that rivalled Rome
-
to try to equal or surpass; compete with in rivalry
Synonym Usage
See opponent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonrivalnoun
-
outrivalverb (used with object)
-
rivallessadjective
-
unrivalingadjective
-
unrivallingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rivalsimple
-
rivalssimple
-
have rivaledperfect
-
have rivalledperfect
-
has rivaledperfect
-
has rivalledperfect
-
am rivalingprogressive
-
am rivallingprogressive
-
are rivalingprogressive
-
are rivallingprogressive
-
is rivalingprogressive
-
is rivallingprogressive
-
have been rivalingperfect progressive
-
have been rivallingperfect progressive
-
has been rivalingperfect progressive
-
has been rivallingperfect progressive
Past
-
rivaledsimple
-
rivalledsimple
-
had rivaledperfect
-
had rivalledperfect
-
was rivalingprogressive
-
was rivallingprogressive
-
were rivalingprogressive
-
were rivallingprogressive
-
had been rivalingperfect progressive
-
had been rivallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rival
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin rīvālis, originally, “one who uses a stream in common with another,” equivalent to rīv(us) “stream” + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
A rival is a competitor or contender that you want to defeat, whether in an actual competition or for another goal. It may be a tennis rival or a rival for your true love’s affections. There are all types of rivals, but they tend to show up a lot in sports. For example, in college football, the Army and Navy have been rivals since their first meeting in 1890. Something that is able to rival something else is seen as comparable to it in quality, and something that is said to be “without rival” is unmatched, or better than everything else.
Vocabulary lists containing rival
Beowulf vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Sporting Spirit"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Purple Hibiscus
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Similarly, CoreWeave’s cloud rival Nebius Group surged 34% to $259.20 after it said quarterly revenue had risen by more than five-fold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The tech giant has organized a press launch event in New York to present the Pixel Tag, a rival to the AirTag, a tracking device commercialized by Apple since 2021.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
That’s largely because of how cheap Chinese robots are compared with rival products.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
In 1061, rival factions elected two competing popes, Alexander II and Bishop Cadalus of Parma, who became known as Honorius II.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
There was no darkness she could send him to rival what he’d endured already.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
He alluded to rivals Anthropic and OpenAI, who have called for tighter controls on the technology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
U.S. sales at Domino’s, the world’s biggest pizza company, have held up better than those of many rivals, but the company reported flat quarterly same-store sales last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Among Cava’s rivals, the impact of the outbreaks has been mixed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Darline Graham’s allied super PACs—as well as her campaign—have outspent her rivals.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Seabiscuit had been assigned 130 pounds, as much as 25 more than his rivals.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Osgood’s popularity was rivaled only by ABC Radio personality Paul Harvey.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
If Artemisia’s dramatic images announced her admiration for Caravaggio’s innovations, her dramatic personal history rivaled that of the bad boy of the Baroque, although, unlike him, she didn’t murder anyone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The extent to which he has reshaped U.S. politics and society is rivaled by few of his predecessors; presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
“It’s only rivaled by the ‘84 Sarajevo team.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
The character was played by a gifted high school actor, someone talented beyond his years, the only student actor I would see anywhere who rivaled Truman’s best.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Scientists believe it rivalled the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex in size, measuring around 40 feet long with a 20-inch sword-like crest on its head.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
When McCallum arrived in London in 1966, his airport reception from ranks of screaming girls rivalled that of The Beatles.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2023
Saudi club Al-Hilal could be rivalled for Messi's signature by Major League soccer side Inter Miami, co-owned by former Manchester United and England superstar David Beckham.
From BBC ● May 3, 2023
At the height of her fame in the 1950s and 1960s, Lollobrigida, who was known simply as "La Lollo," was an internationally recognised epitome of Italian post-war cinema, rivalled only by Sophia Loren.
From Reuters ● Jan. 16, 2023
It never quite rivalled those institutions, but this was still a significant step in the spread of learning in England.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Anthropic's Claude chatbot is among the most popular, rivaling ChatGPT and Gemini.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Getting more satellites into low-Earth orbit is critical for AST SpaceMobile, which is working on developing a service rivaling SpaceX’s Starlink, among other competitors.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
More than 2 pounds of honor cords, pins, stoles and medallions — a stash rivaling that of a supreme Allied commander — crashed to the dirt outside the 18-year-old’s Adelanto home.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Today, YouTube’s revenue is upward of $60 billion, rivaling Disney’s media arm, Wall Street firm MoffettNathanson estimates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Pushing himself off the ground, Sheed found himself among a gang of Clock Watchers rivaling the library gathering.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Claude Fable 5 is a version of Anthropic's Claude Mythos, an AI program rivalling competitors OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Before the war, Dubai was the world's second-biggest airport in terms of passengers transiting, after Atlanta, while Doha had passenger levels rivalling those of Hong Kong or Frankfurt.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
His snack brand, Feastables, meanwhile rakes in hundreds of millions in sales, rivalling the revenue from the YouTube videos that first made him famous.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
A hugely popular K-pop musical animation has seen songs by its fictional bands zoom to the top 10 of music charts, rivalling the success of real-life K-pop groups.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
He, however, well aware that, at his best, he could never dream of rivalling the Greek professional in this art of arts, chose rather to treat his subject in the simplest possible manner.
From Istar of Babylon A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
