competitive

[kuhm-pet-i-tiv]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition.

   competitive sports; a competitive examination.

2. well suited for competition; having a feature that makes for successful competition.

   a competitive price.

3. having a strong desire to compete or to succeed.

4. useful to a competitor; giving a competitor an advantage.

   He was careful not to divulge competitive information about his invention.

competitive

/ kəmˈpɛtɪtɪv /

adjective

1. involving or determined by rivalry

   competitive sports

2. sufficiently low in price or high in quality to be successful against commercial rivals

3. relating to or characterized by an urge to compete

   a competitive personality

Other Word Forms

• competitively adverb
• competitiveness noun
• anticompetitive adjective
• anticompetitively adverb
• anticompetitiveness noun
• noncompetitive adjective
• noncompetitively adverb
• noncompetitiveness noun
• overcompetitive adjective
• overcompetitively adverb
• overcompetitiveness noun
• pseudocompetitive adjective
• pseudocompetitively adverb
• quasi-competitive adjective
• quasi-competitively adverb
• supercompetitive adjective
• uncompetitive adjective
• uncompetitively adverb
• uncompetitiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of competitive¹

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin competīt(us) (past participle of competere “to meet, coincide”; compete ) + -ive

Example Sentences

The company argues that union demands are untenable, with the company already offering competitive pay and benefits.

From Los Angeles Times

Adam Wharton is surely an England regular in the making, the loping socks-down style not disguising an elegant, competitive midfield operator of the highest order.

From BBC

Williams said a “competitive mindset” drives him when high-profile backs are in the building.

From Los Angeles Times

"Even with a powerful government like the Chinese one, it is hard to arrest pessimist sentiments when the economy looks bleak, the job market is cruelly competitive, and birth rate hits rock bottom."

From BBC

"There are questions not only about skill-sets but also about whether being involved in a Doge-type activity could provide some form of competitive advantage and access to information which others would not have," Harris said.

From BBC

Related Words

• aggressive 
• ambitious 
• competing www.thesaurus.com
• cutthroat 
• vying 

When To Use

What does competitive mean?

Competitive is most commonly used to describe a person who has a strong desire to compete and win.Competitive is commonly associated with sports, but it is used in many different contexts that involve competition. It is commonly used to describe someone or something that is able to succeed against or stay even with others in the same contest or setting, as in Our new product will help us stay competitive in this market.Example: Most pro athletes are competitive by nature and always want to win no matter what they’re playing—even if it’s something as simple as a game of cards.