compete
[kuh m-peet]
- 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.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for compete on Thesaurus.comstruggle.
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. 2018
compete
- (intr often foll by with) to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for outcompeting
compete
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper