competitor
Americannoun
-
competitors
plural
noun
Synonym Usage
See opponent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of competitor
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin competītor “rival for an office,” equivalent to com- com- + petītor “seeker, claimant” ( see petitor)
Explanation
Competitors are rivals or contenders for the same thing. Two boxers in a ring are competitors, and so are restaurants located on the same block. When people compete (in sports, business, or elsewhere), they're trying to achieve the same goal and are therefore considered competitors. Two teams in the same sports division are competitors. Two politicians running for the same office are competitors. And even two guys courting the same gal are considered competitors. Competitors are out to win.
Vocabulary lists containing competitor
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Chapter 11: Industry and Immigration, Lessons 1–3
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List, Group, Label pre-reading exercise
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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.
See Examples For:
The company competes in a “very fragmented space,” is more than double the size of its next biggest competitor and has been using AI to optimize pricing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
The sale by the GEO Group, a Florida-based government contractor, follows an initial $1.5-billion sale over the summer of two other California detention facilities by GEO’s competitor, CoreCivic of Tennessee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
On Tuesday, while Zuckerberg was at the White House for a summit of AI leaders, Wang was focused on a different threat: OpenAI’s new Muse competitor, a personal AI agent called Dot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
She was referring to the idea that Meta, or another competitor, could build agentic AI systems and integrate them into their own hardware products, unseating the iPhone as a hub for consumer-technology interactions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
With a competitor like Granville in his barn, Fitzsimmons now had no reason to be fretting over a colt like Seabiscuit.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
The third is we are getting new competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Jacqui Heinrich goes to bat for the 1st Amendment rights of her competitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Levi’s also kept relying on department stores and other retailers, while competitors like Gap embraced e-commerce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Once the competitors have finished the swim, they come to the transition area, take off their wetsuits, and continue with the race.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Like a chess game between equally matched competitors, however, the battle continued.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
