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:
GEO Group’s main competitor, CoreCivic, recently sold four detention centers to ICE — two of them in California — for a combined $2.2 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Yes, a non-compete is legal if employees are “going to a competitor with specialized skills they gained on the job,” according to the New York Attorney General’s website.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Ergen gave up on a $46 billion effort to build a nationwide 5G competitor to industry leaders AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon last year after the Federal Communications Commission complained about the initiative’s slow progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The narrow-body jet has been billed as a potential competitor to Boeing's 737 or Airbus's A320, though the aircraft has yet to receive approval from American or European regulators.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Your competitor, Mr. Gupta, down the street, stops me every day to beg me to work for him.”
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
Nvidia is flexing its financial muscle to address AI chip competitors but it comes with risks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Girshick is also working to incorporate outside perspectives, something she said is critical in a sector with few competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Casey and Gen’s journey from competitors to confidantes is the film’s familiar emotional center, but tucked into an unfamiliar narrative.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
Showcasing personality in sport through nail design is by no means limited to athletics, with competitors ranging from gymnasts to footballers getting into the salon.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
She studied him for a moment longer, from the way he balanced his weight to his left, to what feature he first noticed when his eyes moved on and he examined the other competitors.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
