rival

[rahy-vuhl]

noun

1. a person who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to equal or outdo another; competitor.

   Synonyms: antagonist, adversary, adversary, emulator, opponent
   Antonyms: ally

2. a person or thing that is in a position to dispute another's preeminence or superiority.

   a stadium without a rival.

3. Obsolete.,  a companion in duty.

adjective

1. competing or standing in rivalry: rival businesses.

   rival suitors;

   rival businesses.

   Synonyms: opposed, competitive

verb (used with object)

rivaled, rivaling , rivalled, rivalling .

1. to compete with in rivalry; strive to win from, equal, or outdo.

   Synonyms: oppose

2. to prove to be a worthy rival of.

   He soon rivaled the others in skill.

3. to equal (something) as if in carrying on a rivalry.

   The Hudson rivals any European river in beauty.

   Synonyms: emulate, match

verb (used without object)

rivaled, rivaling , rivalled, rivalling .

1. to engage in rivalry; compete.

rival

/ ˈraɪvəl /

noun

1. 1. a person, organization, team, etc, that competes with another for the same object or in the same field

   2. ( as modifier )

      rival suitors

      a rival company

2. a person or thing that is considered the equal of another or others

   she is without rival in the field of economics

verb

1. to be the equal or near equal of

   an empire that rivalled Rome

2. to try to equal or surpass; compete with in rivalry

Other Word Forms

• rivalless adjective
• nonrival noun
• outrival verb (used with object)
• unrivaling adjective
• unrivalling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rival¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin rīvālis, originally, “one who uses a stream in common with another,” equivalent to rīv(us) “stream” + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of rival¹

C16: from Latin rīvalis , literally: one who shares the same brook, from rīvus a brook

Synonym Study

See opponent.

Example Sentences

The defeat was a second straight for Philadelphia, who were coming off an agonizing loss to NFC East rivals Dallas in which they squandered a 21-0 lead.

Read more on Barron's

By leveraging the threat of costly and unpredictable litigation, dominant firms burden their competitors financially and create uncertainty that undermines customer confidence in those rivals—ultimately steering business and market share toward themselves.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

S&P Global cut its rating of rival stablecoin issuer Tether to “weak” on Wednesday.

Read more on Barron's

But now times are different, and, until recently, rivals got rewarded almost uniformly for boosting their spending forecasts in a race to compete.

Read more on MarketWatch

But now times are different, and, until recently, rivals got rewarded almost uniformly for boosting their spending forecasts in a race to compete.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• adversary 
• challenger 
• competition 
• competitor 
• contender 
• opponent 
• peer