competition

American  

[kom-pi-tish-uhn] / ˌkɒm pɪˈtɪʃ ən /

noun

• competitions
  plural

1. the act of competing; rivalry for supremacy, a prize, etc..

   The competition between the two teams was bitter.

   Synonyms:

   emulation

2. a contest for some prize, honor, or advantage.

   Both girls entered the competition.

   Synonyms:

   struggle

3. the rivalry offered by a competitor.

   The small merchant gets powerful competition from the chain stores.

4. a competitor or competitors.

   What is your competition offering?

5. Sociology. rivalry between two or more persons or groups for an object desired in common, usually resulting in a victor and a loser but not necessarily involving the destruction of the latter.

6. Ecology. the struggle among organisms, both of the same and of different species, for food, space, and other vital requirements.

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competition British  

/ ˌkɒmpɪˈtɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of competing; rivalry

2. a contest in which a winner is selected from among two or more entrants

3. a series of games, sports events, etc

4. the opposition offered by a competitor or competitors

5. a competitor or competitors offering opposition

6. ecology the struggle between individuals of the same or different species for food, space, light, etc, when these are inadequate to supply the needs of all

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competition Scientific  

/ kŏm′pĭ-tĭsh′ən /

1. The simultaneous demand by two or more organisms for limited environmental resources, such as nutrients, living space, or light.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• supercompetition
  noun
• noncompetition
  adjective
• procompetition
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• competitions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of competition

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Latin competītiōn-, stem of competītiō “agreement, rivalry,” from competīt(us) “agreed, met” (past participle of competere “to agree, come together, meet”; see compete ( def. )) + -iō -ion; sense influenced by competitor

Explanation

If you are trying to win or attempting to prove you're the best, you're in a competition. The word also describes your opponent in sports, business, and politics. If you're trying to beat out someone else — whether in the Olympics or a pie-baking contest — it's a competition, and the other contestants are called the competition too. If you describe something as a "friendly competition," you're saying the outcome isn't critical, or there's no money involved. If you do something impressive in order to win, people will say competition brings out the best in you. If you try to injure your opponent, they'll say it brings out the worst.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

competition competitions

The competition brings together Olympic, world and Diamond League champions, as well as the year's leading performers in a three-day end-of-season event.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

When Venus and Serena were leapfrogging each other early in their careers, often clashing in Grand Slam finals across continents and surfaces, Serena insisted their competition existed in a supportive environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

GoPro’s struggles as a standalone company came down to too much competition and too many smartphones.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Its core ad business has remained the moneymaker but faced increased competition from TikTok and Instagram’s Reels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

By the end of the competition, he was feeling mild discomfort in the lower right part of his abdomen, and he was also having difficulty keeping food down.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Another post said there had been 1,031 fitness classes and 36 fitness competitions during their deployment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The film portrays how it began to dawn on her what she had taken on when she entered competitions in the run up to the Games.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Three of tennis' four Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open - operate a split schedule during their competitions, separating matches into day and night sessions.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Asked how it felt to see Keira doing so well, Joel said he would often get "teary" when she won competitions.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

And in a way they had, for right away they began entering him in quiz competitions, which Sticky won easily.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Related Words

• championship
• clash
• event
• fight
• game
• match
• meeting
• race
• rivalry
• sport
• struggle
• tournament
• trial