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compete

[ kuhm-peet ]
/ kəmˈpit /
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See synonyms for: compete / competed / competing on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), com·pet·ed, com·pet·ing.
to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in a race;to compete in business.
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Idioms about compete

    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.

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”; see com-. The Late Latin and English senses were influenced by competitor

synonym study for compete

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 WORDS FROM compete

com·pet·er, nouncom·pet·ing·ly, adverbnon·com·pet·ing, adjectiveout·com·pete, verb (used with object), out·com·pet·ed, out·com·pet·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to compete

battle, challenge, clash, contend, contest, face, fight, play, spar, try, vie, wrestle, attempt, bandy, bid, collide, emulate, encounter, essay, fence

How to use compete in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for compete

compete
/ (kəmˈpiːt) /
verb
(intr often foll by with) to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)

Word Origin for compete

C17: from Late Latin competere to strive together, from Latin: to meet, come together, agree, from com- together + petere to seek
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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