: to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective (such as position, profit, or a prize) : be in a state of rivalry
competing teams
companies competing for customers
Synonyms
battle
contend
face off
fight
race
rival
vie
See all Synonyms & Antonyms
Example Sentences
Thousands of applicants are competing for the same job. She competed against students from around the country. We are competing with companies that are twice our size. Did you compete in the track meet on Saturday? The radio and the television were both on, competing for our attention.
Recent Examples on the WebIf true, such a device would put Apple in position to better compete with companies like Garmin, which produce heavy-duty, fitness-tracking smartwatches in addition to more basic activity trackers. Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2022 CCI Insight analyst Leo Gebbie predicted that the Ultra will compete with existing sports watch brands like Garmin and some luxury Swiss watchmakers that market their products around extreme sports. Michael Liedtke, ajc, 7 Sep. 2022 Publishers have struggled to compete with Google and Facebook for ad dollars, and long criticized those companies for not paying for news content. Alexandra Bruell, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 And the upcoming $2 million expansion will allow the craft operation to compete with larger, more established distilleries in the state.courier-journal.com, 6 Sep. 2022 All in all, job hopping has proven to be a way for employees to compete with the increasing cost of living. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2022 Chief winemaker Peter Gago notes that the brand doesn’t intend to compete with French winemaking. Katie Kelly Bell, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2022 The Ducks were only a 17-point underdog, but college football is now so skewed it’s tough for anyone to compete with the sport’s top two schools. Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2022 Falling launch costs triggered by improved technologies have opened the door for many emerging private aerospace firms, and a new class of launch operators is vying to compete with companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to put payloads into space. Denise Chow, NBC news, 2 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Late Latin competere to seek together, from Latin, to come together, agree, be suitable, from com- + petere to go to, seek — more at feather
First Known Use
1620, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing compete
can't compete
can't compete
Kids Definition
compete
verb
com·pete kəm-ˈpēt
competed; competing
: to strive for something (as a prize or a reward) for which another is also striving
competed
verb
past tense of compete
as in raced
to engage in a contest prizefighters competing for the world heavyweight championship