competitive
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition.
competitive sports; a competitive examination.
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well suited for competition; having a feature that makes for successful competition.
a competitive price.
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having a strong desire to compete or to succeed.
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useful to a competitor; giving a competitor an advantage.
He was careful not to divulge competitive information about his invention.
adjective
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involving or determined by rivalry
competitive sports
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sufficiently low in price or high in quality to be successful against commercial rivals
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relating to or characterized by an urge to compete
a competitive personality
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- anticompetitive adjective
- anticompetitively adverb
- anticompetitiveness noun
- competitively adverb
- competitiveness 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
Etymology
Origin of competitive
First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin competīt(us) (past participle of competere “to meet, coincide”; compete ) + -ive
Explanation
If you're competitive, you want to be the best. No one likes to lose, but if you are a competitive person, it will be especially disappointing to see someone else win. People who are competitive like to compete — to find out who knows the most, runs the fastest, can eat the most hot dogs, and so on. Some people are competitive about everything. You'll know them by their constant comparing themselves to others and trying to find out what others have and do — in order to be sure they are still "ahead." Competitive can describe any contest, like a competitive sandcastle-building event.
Vocabulary lists containing competitive
Word Generation Social Studies - Ancient Civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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The Skin I'm In
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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.
The company just bought a stablecoin company in an effort to keep its offerings current—and competitive.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
“We’ve kind of tilted the probability…It could change the competitive balance. But, that requires that a meaningful remedy follows the liability. You need both.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
“We are dedicated to building an organization that is competitive year after year,” said Terry Pegula at the time, “and we have fallen short of that goal.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The lenders told the BBC that CKI had its chance to make a good offer for Thames during a bidding process run by the investment bank Rothschilds but failed to present a competitive bid.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Both were also competitive, even in their time off.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
