competitor
Americannoun
-
competitors
plural
noun
Synonym Usage
See opponent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of competitor
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin competītor “rival for an office,” equivalent to com- com- + petītor “seeker, claimant” ( see petitor)
Explanation
Competitors are rivals or contenders for the same thing. Two boxers in a ring are competitors, and so are restaurants located on the same block. When people compete (in sports, business, or elsewhere), they're trying to achieve the same goal and are therefore considered competitors. Two teams in the same sports division are competitors. Two politicians running for the same office are competitors. And even two guys courting the same gal are considered competitors. Competitors are out to win.
Vocabulary lists containing competitor
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Chapter 11: Industry and Immigration, Lessons 1–3
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List, Group, Label pre-reading exercise
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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:
"When does Sky wonder if they are paying a lot of money in wages to train their next competitor?"
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
At a plant in Sherman, Texas, roughly the size of a football field, Cisco competitor Coherent makes lasers for iPhones — and for data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
But rebuilding after the recent departures is likely to require landing high-profile hires or, potentially, merging with a competitor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Coxon, who previously worked at Anthropic’s competitor OpenAI, noted that OpenAI had not grappled with “the civilizational stakes.”
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
With a competitor like Granville in his barn, Fitzsimmons now had no reason to be fretting over a colt like Seabiscuit.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
But the market has become much tougher: Tesla’s share of China’s battery-EV market fell to 6.6% in the second quarter, from more than 15% in 2020, as homegrown competitors have gained ground.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
The pressure is mounting as aggressive competitors embark on an unprecedented poaching spree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Charles Lemonides of ValueWorks presented three stocks of underdogs he favors against larger competitors.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The company’s rise, the Journal wrote, was “undermining the whole real-estate brokerage system,” squeezing out some competitors while fomenting a “sudden explosion” of imitators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The other competitors remained mostly quiet—save for Cain and Verin—and many of them were pale as snow.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
