1
as in tournament
a competitive encounter between individuals or groups carried on for amusement, exercise, or in pursuit of a prize
a competition between two fierce football rivals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in contestant
one who strives for the same thing as another
tried to analyze his major competition in the tennis tournament
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the intense competition for bragging rights to being the city's best French restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of competition
In the first book in the series, Nick, who is autistic, wants to take part in a competition that uses bricks to build different types of structures.
—
Sara Rowe Mount, Parents, 15 Oct. 2025
The concentration of nearby competition — including the Bally’s project, which would be less than a 25-minute drive from MGM’s operation — didn’t seem to help.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 15 Oct. 2025
See the full Doha Film Festival competition lineup below.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
The drama, a co-production between Canada, France, Poland and Turkey, won the Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition in Sundance.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for competition
Sara Rowe Mount, Parents, 15 Oct. 2025
The concentration of nearby competition — including the Bally’s project, which would be less than a 25-minute drive from MGM’s operation — didn’t seem to help.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 15 Oct. 2025
See the full Doha Film Festival competition lineup below.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
The drama, a co-production between Canada, France, Poland and Turkey, won the Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition in Sundance.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for competition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for competition
Noun
-
Back in April after defeating the Grizzlies in the play-in tournament, Kerr wore a Harvard shirt to the postgame podium, showing support to a university that was under fire by the administration.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The Duchess of Sussex later shared a compilation of videos and pictures from the tournament on her Instagram Stories.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Some even licked the candy to soften it -- a trick used by contestants in the show.—
Hakyung Kate Lee,
ABC News,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Sandoz Presta was a contestant on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor in 2017.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And, in the short term, if history is any guide, a little friendly rivalry between teams will only accelerate progress.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Prestige revolves around a rivalry between two magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) in turn-of-the-20th century London.—
Kirk Honeycutt,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This is the fourth year of the event, and the additions of Steen, Jackman and Arbour will bring the number of players in the Hall of Fame to 20.—
Jeremy Rutherford,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Featuring high-profile guests like Coco Jones, the annual DKMS gala is a fundraising event hosted by the international nonprofit organization with a mission to fight blood cancer.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Last year, Semafor noted that Soros was diving deeper into podcasting and audio, investing in Crooked and the radio company Audacy, as well as meeting with competitors like Pushkin, Project Brazen, and Lemonada.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Too Cool and later had a successful run as a main event singles competitor.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lima, Peru Reuters — Peru’s President Jose Jeri declared on Tuesday a 30-day state of emergency in the capital Lima and the neighboring province of Callao, saying the move was to battle rising crime.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Hubbard has a track record of moving the chains effectively, which was necessary in a game that was going to be mostly a defensive battle.—
Mike Kaye
October 21,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Bucks games at Fiserv Forum will have lots of new food, drink choices.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!—
Rey Covarrubias Jr,
AZCentral.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Can Sheppard play well enough that Houston emerges as a contender with him as its point guard?—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Irwin remains a top contender in Season 34, earning early praise from judge Derek Hough and tying for the highest score in Week 1.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Competition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competition. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share