compete
Americanverb (used without object)
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competes,
present (3rd person singular)
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competed,
past participle, past
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competing
present participle
idioms
verb
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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competesimple
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competessimple
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have competedperfect
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has competedperfect
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am competingprogressive
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are competingprogressive
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is competingprogressive
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have been competingperfect progressive
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has been competingperfect progressive
Past
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competedsimple
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had competedperfect
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was competingprogressive
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were competingprogressive
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had been competingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compete
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin competere “to meet, coincide, be fitting, suffice” ( Late Latin: “to seek, ask for”), equivalent to com- “with, together” + petere “to seek”; see com-. The Late Latin and English senses were influenced by competitor
Explanation
In sports you compete against the opposing team. At work you compete for a promotion. With siblings, you compete for everything. Compete means to vie for a goal. The urge to compete is universal and human, from kids who say "Race ya!," to great athletes who manage to achieve the impossible when faced with a worthy opponent. Some people are more inclined to compete than others. They are viewed as competitive and may be accused of turning everything into a competition.
Vocabulary lists containing compete
"Play Ball!"
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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:
“Don’t have annuity compete against the stock market, because that’s not the point. Think of the annuity as more of a bond alternative,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
But in the UK not a single firm has launched a wallet-type product to compete with Apple's the watchdog argued.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Attendees strain their voices talking about elections and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as they compete with indiscernible house music and the baseball game.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
Coach JJ Redick, who has not tipped his hand on a starting five, believes the team can compete in the West, as does superstar Luka Doncic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Even if you manage to get through the first two tryouts, how are you supposed to compete with kids who have a whole team around them?
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
His exit comes as Uber competes for its share of a growing robotaxi market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
That would help Oracle avoid borrowing more money itself, keeping debt costs under control as the company competes against larger tech firms with bigger war chests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
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 imperative to close all or portions of campuses potentially competes with the concurrent high priority of providing students with safe, up-to-date, fully resourced and inviting education environments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Justice encouraged Will to join the Boy Scouts, and when he was invited to join his school’s Academic Team, which competes in quiz bowls, she insisted that he try it.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
At 19, Miller competed in The Voice UK, coming third place with coach Jennifer Hudson.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Not talking only about the results, talking about the way that we competed and the way that we came together, I think it was amazing,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Arch competed his tail off,” Sarkisian said, despite the throws that cost Texas its unbeaten record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
For South Korea, another gaming heavyweight, Park So-yeon became the first woman to represent their national team when she competed in Nagoya.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Mixed economies that added certain crops or livestock to hunting-gathering also competed against both types of “pure” economies, and against mixed economies with higher or lower proportions of food production.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
In 2009, geologists even voted on the competing explanations, as documented in Geoscientist magazine.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
Meanwhile, a competing smartglasses model is due to be launched by Google this fall, posing the first serious challenge to EssilorLuxottica and Meta’s dominant position in the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
O'Sullivan might improve his chances of earning ranking prize money by competing in more tournaments, having operated on a reduced schedule in recent years.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
One could read the competing statements carefully and emerge with some more information, but not much more confidence about dinner.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
Later in the month, Zoey’s robotics club is competing in this all-county middle school tournament.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
