competitor

American  

[kuhm-pet-i-ter] / kəmˈpɛt ɪ tər /

noun

• competitors
  plural

1. a person, team, company, etc., that competes; rival.

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competitor British  

/ kəmˈpɛtɪtə /

noun

1. a person, group, team, firm, etc, that vies or competes; rival

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Synonym Usage

See opponent.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• competitorship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• competitors
  plural

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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)

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

competitor competitors

How do you beat a competitor who doesn’t have a budget, whose ambitions were more about PR than profits?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

To place these thoughts in a workaday context, it’s important to note that Microsoft treats Anthropic as a competitor in the AI space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

To limit spending on gas, many customers bike or walk to a Dollar General store rather than driving to a more distant competitor, Chief Executive Todd Vasos told investors recently.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Mackle, who competes on PDC's Development Tour, was the eighth competitor and failed to hit a match-winning bullseye, instead finding the nine, and his life-changing moment came and went.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Another drone started, another competitor, another zoom, another crazy jump, freestyle, then another.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

While Roku provides Fox with an opportunity to be more aggressive in marketing its channels, Fox has pledged that the platform will remain open to distributing content from competitors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

At the start of the series, Paris said she had been blocked on social media by some of her competitors, including Flesh, but said they were now "besties".

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

And despite tentative signs of a recovery this year, Germany continues to face long-standing headwinds as its export-reliant economy has come under increasing pressure from cheaper Chinese competitors, particularly in car manufacturing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Diez told MarketWatch that Agility’s emphasis on safety and its ability to deploy autonomous humanoids sets it apart from competitors.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

She expected them to rush to the long table stacked with identical bows and arrows, but apparently none of the twenty-one other competitors were in much of a hurry to go home.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

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Related Words

• adversary
• challenger
• competition
• contestant
• favorite
• opponent
• rival

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