competitive

American  

[kuhm-pet-i-tiv] / kəmˈpɛt ɪ tɪv /

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 British  

/ 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

---

Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

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

---

Etymology

Origin of competitive

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

---

Explanation

If you're competitive, you want to be the best. No one likes to lose, but if you are a competitive person, it will be especially disappointing to see someone else win. People who are competitive like to compete — to find out who knows the most, runs the fastest, can eat the most hot dogs, and so on. Some people are competitive about everything. You'll know them by their constant comparing themselves to others and trying to find out what others have and do — in order to be sure they are still "ahead." Competitive can describe any contest, like a competitive sandcastle-building event.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

competitive

Beijing has come under pressure from major trading partners to let the yuan strengthen rapidly in a bid to help rebalance trade surpluses by making Chinese exports less competitive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Throughout the night, BBC analysts will focus on the competitive races which will give an indication of how well things are going for Trump.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

But as other states and countries offer more competitive incentives, many major productions have continued to leave California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

The competitive threat posed by SpaceX discouraged the three major national carriers but buying into Boost Mobile could represent a back-door entry for Musk.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

He was competitive and cool-headed, focused and serious, but quick with a joke to cut the tension.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• aggressive
• ambitious
• competing
• cutthroat
• vying

---