compete

American  

[kuhm-peet] / kəmˈpit /

verb (used without object)

competed, competing

1. to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in business.

   to compete in a race;

   to compete in business.

   Synonyms:

   struggle

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idioms

1. cannot/can't compete with, to not be, by a great degree, as good or capable as (someone or something else).

   These roses are lovely, but they can’t compete with the ones we grew back home in Ecuador.

compete British  

/ kəmˈpiːt /

verb

1. to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)

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Related Words

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

• competer noun
• competingly adverb
• noncompeting adjective
• outcompete verb (used with object)

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”; com-. The Late Latin and English senses were influenced by competitor

Example Sentences

Most potential homebuyers would get relief from a single report; but all borrowers benefit from making the bureaus compete.

From The Wall Street Journal

Business leaders have also privately complained that migrating all online services onto Max risks stifling innovation and limiting Russia’s ability to compete with China and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

The team has not appeared in the World Cup since 2014, meaning a generation of Italian middle-schoolers has not seen their country compete.

From The Wall Street Journal

The question seemed designed to stump even the person who wrote the episode, not to mention the obsessives competing in the recent “Seinfeld” trivia competition in New York.

From The Wall Street Journal

"For buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords there will be higher fees, less choice of agents if smaller ones can't compete," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• battle
• challenge
• clash
• contend
• contest
• face
• fight
• play
• spar
• try
• vie
• wrestle