competitive

American  

[kuhm-pet-i-tiv] / kəmˈpɛt ɪ tɪv /

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.

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competitive British  

/ 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

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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”; see 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.

Example Sentences

Guillaume Faury said the plant also had to show it could be more competitive.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Angels fans have heard enough about building a competitive team and needing patience.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

Markets deliver competitive outcomes when buyers can see what they are buying, when they can walk away cheaply if they were wrong, and when they update their views in light of new information.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Consumers and restaurants continue to avoid meat alternatives, and Beyond Meat’s outlook suggests things could get tougher from here, as the company tries to expand into new but increasingly competitive areas like protein beverages.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

You’d almost think it was real, Isidore observed as he headed back to the Van Ness Pet Hospital—that carefully misnamed little enterprise which barely existed in the tough, competitive field of false-animal repair.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

Related Words

• aggressive
• ambitious
• competing
• cutthroat
• vying