competition

noun

com·​pe·​ti·​tion ˌkäm-pə-ˈti-shən 

1

: the act or process of competing : rivalry: such as

a

: the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms

contractors in competition for the contract to build the new school

b

: active demand by two or more organisms or kinds of organisms for some environmental resource in short supply

the interspecies competition for food

2

: a contest between rivals

a gymnastics competition

also : one's competitors

faced tough competition

Synonyms

• tournament
• event
• game
• contest
• match

Examples of competition in a Sentence

Prices are lower when there is competition among the stores.

Don't let the competition know our trade secrets.

They had a competition to see who could sell the most lemonade.

Recent Examples on the Web

Celebrity contestants are taking the stage with personal anthem performances, launching a new season of competition and fan voting. —Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

Humanoid robots are stepping into new roles that go well beyond labs and competitions. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025

The decision of which strategy to pursue is influenced by factors such as the company’s vision and mission, available resources, risk tolerance, competitive and growth strategies, market scale, and the intensity of competition. —Esade Business & Law School, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Melroy added that propulsion breakthroughs like the RDRE are going to set the pace for global space competition. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin competition-, competitio, from Latin competere — see compete

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing competition

• in competition with
• the competition

Rhymes for competition

• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition
• demolition
• deposition

Kids Definition

competition

noun

com·​pe·​ti·​tion ˌkäm-pə-ˈtish-ən 

1

: the act or process of competing

2

a

: a contest between rivals

b

: rivalry

c

: an individual or group one is competing against

look over the competition

3

: the effort of persons or firms to attract business by offering the most favorable terms

4

: the active seeking after and use of an environmental resource (as food) in limited supply by two or more plants or animals or kinds of plants and animals