competitor

noun

com·​pet·​i·​tor kəm-ˈpe-tə-tər 

: one that competes: such as

a

: rival

a fierce competitor on the soccer field

b

: one selling or buying goods or services in the same market as another

offering lower prices than our competitors

c

: an organism that lives in competition with another

The squid population increased dramatically when food competitors were depleted by heavy overfishing.

Synonyms of competitor

• contestant
• contender
• rival
• challenger

Examples of competitor in a Sentence

We offer better rates than our competitors.

There were more than 500 competitors in the race.

Recent Examples on the Web

Understanding a market requires more than collecting competitor information. — Vlada Grebenykova, Forbes.com, 12 Nov. 2026

Among her likely competitors, Audrey Hobert and Malcolm Todd will be fun to watch as the Grammys’ first set of siblings nominated against each other for this prize. — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026

After college, Huang worked at chipmakers (including AMD, now a Nvidia competitor) and studied for a master’s degree at Stanford. — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2026

In an age of endless content, a true story may be the one thing a competitor cannot copy. — Kylie Slavik, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see competition

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

competitor

noun

com·​pet·​i·​tor kəm-ˈpet-ət-ər 

: one that competes especially in the selling of goods or services : rival