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
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.
He wrote about everything from the National Football League and Major League Baseball to short-track car racing, lacrosse and competitive hot dog eating.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
“The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape, and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily,” Lores said in a February statement.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
"When there's no wind or storm, not a week goes by without flights taking off from here. The hangar door opens right onto the runway. That's a real competitive advantage," said Canguilhem.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
In Wilkinson’s case, her competitive edge comes from her massive fan community and the wide marketing reach she has because of them on social media.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
I would lie in bed and wonder if it was because I was unapologetically competitive on the strip.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
