compete

verb

com·​pete kəm-ˈpēt 

competed; competing

intransitive verb

: to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective (such as position, profit, or a prize) : be in a state of rivalry

competing teams

companies competing for customers

Synonyms of compete

• contend
• race
• fight
• battle

Examples of compete in a Sentence

Thousands of applicants are competing for the same job.

She competed against students from around the country.

We are competing with companies that are twice our size.

Did you compete in the track meet on Saturday?

The radio and the television were both on, competing for our attention.

Recent Examples on the Web

Guests still have to choose to browse, and in Las Vegas particularly, retail is competing for their time and wallet with restaurants, casinos, shows, clubs and an almost relentless number of other distractions. — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Johnson formed the league by providing star athletes with salaries and appearance fees to compete on a four-event circuit in 2025. — ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026

That means the president’s eldest son has relationships with both of the industry’s biggest prediction market companies while his father is developing a competing platform of his own. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026

The promising feature film projects that competed for the First Look awards were from this year’s focus country, Uruguay. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin competere to seek together, from Latin, to come together, agree, be suitable, from com- + petere to go to, seek — more at feather

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing compete

• can't compete

Rhymes for compete

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete
• crabmeat

Kids Definition

compete

verb

com·​pete kəm-ˈpēt 

competed; competing

: to strive for something (as a prize or reward) for which another is also striving : contest