competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv 

1

: relating to, characterized by, or based on competition

competitive sports

a competitive marketplace

2

: inclined, desiring, or suited to compete

a competitive personality

competitive interest rates

3

: depending for effectiveness on the relative concentration of two or more substances

competitive inhibition of an enzyme

competitively adverb

competitiveness noun

Examples of competitive in a Sentence

She is a very competitive player.

You need a degree to be competitive in today's job market.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Warriors simply hope to stay competitive enough before finding a better market leading into the trade deadline. — Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

The lawsuit alleges Cacioppo had previously won competitive contract bids. — Alexa Newsom, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2026

The protests stemmed from allegations that entrance exams to highly competitive medical schools had been leaked and sold to certain students, forcing millions to retake the tests. — Carter Schroppe, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026

The initiative also reflects broader changes taking place within the maritime industry, where digitalisation, automation and AI are becoming essential competitive differentiators. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

see competition

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing competitive

• hyper-competitive

Rhymes for competitive

• appetitive
• repetitive
• anticompetitive
• noncompetitive
• uncompetitive

Kids Definition

competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv 

: relating to, characterized by, or based on competition

competitive sports

competitive bidding

competitively adverb

competitiveness noun

Medical Definition

competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv 

: depending for effectiveness on the relative concentration of two or more substances

competitive inhibition of an enzyme

competitive protein binding

competitively adverb