competitive

[kuhm-pet-i-tiv]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of competitive¹

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

Example Sentences

There was no timetable given for when Woods might return to competitive golf after the latest in a series of operations and injuries that have kept him inactive since last year's British Open.

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At the party's annual conference in Swansea, education spokesman Cefin Campbell said a Plaid-led government would offer "competitive incentives" to keep staff in Wales, focusing on Welsh-medium teaching and subjects like maths and science.

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But Constellation may have a long-term competitive advantage, as MarketWatch’s James Rogers explained.

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Protectionism is among the surest ways to set a globally competitive domestic industry on a path to ruination.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Her gritty half-century laid the foundation for a competitive total after the Kiwis had wobbled to 38-3.

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Related Words

• aggressive 
• ambitious 
• competing www.thesaurus.com
• cutthroat 
• vying 

When To Use

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.