compete

[kuhm-peet]

verb (used without object), com·pet·ed, com·pet·ing.

to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in a race; to compete in business.

Origin of compete

1610–20; < Latin competere to meet, coincide, be fitting, suffice (Late Latin: seek, ask for), equivalent to com- com- + petere to seek; Late Latin and E sense influenced by competitor

Related formscom·pet·er, nouncom·pet·ing·ly, adverbnon·com·pet·ing, adjectiveout·com·pete, verb (used with object), out·com·pet·ed, out·com·pet·ing.

Synonyms for compete

struggle.

Synonym study

Compete, contend, contest mean to strive to outdo or excel. Compete implies having a sense of rivalry and of striving to do one's best as well as to outdo another: to compete for a prize. Contend suggests opposition or disputing as well as rivalry: to contend with an opponent, against obstacles. Contest suggests struggling to gain or hold something, as well as contending or disputing: to contest a position or ground ( in battle ); to contest a decision.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for outcompeting

compete

verb

(intr often foll by with) to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)

Word Origin for compete

C17: from Late Latin competere to strive together, from Latin: to meet, come together, agree, from com- together + petere to seek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for outcompeting

compete

1610s, " to enter or be put in rivalry with," from Middle French compéter "be in rivalry with" (14c.), or directly from Late Latin competere "strive in common," in classical Latin "to come together, agree, to be qualified," later, "strive together," from com- "together" (see com-) + petere "to strive, seek, fall upon, rush at, attack" (see petition (n.)).

Rare 17c., revived from late 18c. in sense "to strive (alongside another) for the attainment of something" and regarded early 19c. in Britain as a Scottish or American word. Market sense is from 1840s (perhaps a back-formation from competition); athletics sense attested by 1857. Related: Competed; competing.