compete

American  

[kuhm-peet] / kəmˈpit /

verb (used without object)

competed, competing

1. to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in business.

   to compete in a race;

   to compete in business.

   Synonyms:

   struggle

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idioms

1. cannot/can't compete with, to not be, by a great degree, as good or capable as (someone or something else).

   These roses are lovely, but they can’t compete with the ones we grew back home in Ecuador.

compete British  

/ kəmˈpiːt /

verb

1. to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)

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Related Words

Compete, contend, contest mean to strive to outdo or excel. Compete implies having a sense of rivalry and of striving to do one's best as well as to outdo another: to compete for a prize. Contend suggests opposition or disputing as well as rivalry: to contend with an opponent, against obstacles. Contest suggests struggling to gain or hold something, as well as contending or disputing: to contest a position or ground ( in battle ); to contest a decision.

Other Word Forms

• competer noun
• competingly adverb
• noncompeting adjective
• outcompete verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of compete

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin competere “to meet, coincide, be fitting, suffice” ( Late Latin: “to seek, ask for”), equivalent to com- “with, together” + petere “to seek”; com-. The Late Latin and English senses were influenced by competitor

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Anthropic is intensifying its focus on the enterprise market, increasingly competing with OpenAI by securing major corporate customers.

From The Wall Street Journal

"This is part of our commitment to fans, who expect the world's best players to compete on the PGA Tour week in and week out."

From BBC

Israel will compete against 14 other countries, including past Eurovision winners Estonia, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Sweden, for spots in the May 16 final, the draw at Vienna's City Hall revealed.

From Barron's

But concern about the remedies a judge could impose in an antitrust trial, plus worry that competing AI chatbots were winning market share in search, weighed on Alphabet shares specifically.

From Barron's

As years passed without a deal, however, it left fans and even players wondering when they might get to see the game’s best compete in the same field outside of the major championships.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• battle
• challenge
• clash
• contend
• contest
• face
• fight
• play
• spar
• try
• vie
• wrestle