compete
verb OPAL W
/kəmˈpiːt/
/kəmˈpiːt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they compete | /kəmˈpiːt/ /kəmˈpiːt/ |
| he / she / it competes | /kəmˈpiːts/ /kəmˈpiːts/ |
| past simple competed | /kəmˈpiːtɪd/ /kəmˈpiːtɪd/ |
| past participle competed | /kəmˈpiːtɪd/ /kəmˈpiːtɪd/ |
| -ing form competing | /kəmˈpiːtɪŋ/ /kəmˈpiːtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to take part in a contest or game
- The games were an outstanding success, with almost 2 400 athletes competing.
- compete in something He's hoping to compete in the London marathon.
- Only 21 bodybuilders competed in the event.
- compete against somebody They are competing against teams of full-time professional players.
- compete for something He is expected to compete for the title of world champion next year.
Wordfinder- athlete
- champion
- compete
- fixture
- match
- record
- spectator
- sport
- stadium
- tournament
Extra ExamplesTopics Sports: other sportsa2- He regularly competes in races.
- They have what it takes to compete at the highest level of their sport.
- He welcomed the chance to compete against professional athletes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- effectively
- successfully
- directly
- …
- cannot
- against
- for
- in
- …
- [intransitive] to try to be more successful or better than somebody else who is trying to do the same as you
- They simply cannot compete in the international market.
- compete for something Several companies are competing for the contract.
- Young children will usually compete for their mother's attention.
- The result is more applicants competing for fewer jobs.
- compete with somebody/something Small independent bookshops find it difficult to compete with the online stores.
- compete against somebody/something For too long UK shipyards have been competing against each other.
- compete on something We can't compete with them on price.
- to compete on quality/cost
- compete to do something There are too many magazines competing to attract readers.
Extra ExamplesTopics Successb1, Businessb1- Small traders cannot compete in the face of cheap foreign imports.
- The price must be right in order to compete internationally.
- The big companies are competing fiercely on price.
- The company is prepared to compete head-to-head with the market giants.
- Their products compete directly with ours.
- We have to compete with several larger companies.
- a readiness to compete actively in the global system
- Colleges will have to compete to attract the best students.
- Several projects are competing against each other for scarce resources.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- effectively
- successfully
- directly
- …
- cannot
- against
- for
- in
- …
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin competere, in its late sense ‘strive or contend for (something)’, from com- ‘together’ + petere ‘aim at, seek’.