competitive

play

adjective com·pet·i·tive \kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv\

Definition of competitive

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

See competitive defined for English-language learners

See competitive defined for kids

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 of competitive from the Web

This feature gave Spam a significant competitive advantage.

— ayalla a. ruvio, Smithsonian, "How Spam Went from Canned Necessity to American Icon", 6 July 2017
In his debut novel, Stephen Florida, Gabe Habash examines the dark side of this transaction through his eponymous character, an intensely competitive young wrestler at a college in North Dakota.

— alex mcelroy, The Atlantic, "Stephen Florida Reveals the Dark Toll of Athletic Greatness", 4 July 2017
Chestnut was the reigning champion and favorite heading into Tuesday's 10-minute race, which attracts the world's hungriest competitive eaters at New York's Coney Island.

— justin carissimo, CBS News, "Joey Chestnut wins his 10th Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest", 4 July 2017
International applicants, students who were home-schooled, and students applying for competitive scholarships are still required to submit a standardized test score, but all applications are reviewed through a holistic approach, Zimmerman said.

— elena mejia lutz, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana college joins growing list of schools no longer requiring SAT for admission", 2 July 2017
Among a certain set of competitive schools, the number of presidential alumni is a metric of superiority.

— jacob gardenswartz, Town & Country, "How Do Wharton Students Really Feel About President Trump?", 28 June 2017
Ikemori was competitive with Hui in the quarterfinal match at Junior Sectionals.

— matt szabo, Daily Pilot, "HB's Ikemori makes due in Junior Sectionals", 24 June 2017
The Raptors have done great work in building a competitive roster that looks capable of challenging Cleveland on paper.

— jerry brewer, chicagotribune.com, "The NBA offseason is already more compelling than the 2016-17 season", 21 June 2017
Any market in which one company controls nearly 100% of sales is probably ripe for a competitive attack.

— aaron pressman, Fortune, "AMD Wants To Pound Intel With New Data Center Chips", 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'competitive'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of competitive

see competition

NEW!

First Known Use: 1829

See Words from the same year

COMPETITIVE Defined for English Language Learners

competitive

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adjective

Definition of competitive for English Language Learners

: of or relating to a situation in which people or groups are trying to win a contest or be more successful than others : relating to or involving competition
: having a strong desire to win or be the best at something
: as good as or better than others of the same kind : able to compete successfully with others

COMPETITIVE Defined for Kids

competitive

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adjective com·pet·i·tive \kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv\

Definition of competitive for Students

: characterized by or based on a situation in which more than one person is striving for the same thing competitive sports

Medical Dictionary

competitive

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adjective com·pet·i·tive \kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv\

Medical Definition of competitive

: depending for effectiveness on the relative concentration of two or more substances competitive inhibition of an enzyme competitive protein binding