competitive

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

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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

Those who were the most savvy and competitive could make more money and climb up the class system. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "What is Capitalism?," 7 Jan. 2019 As the pool of potential homebuyers becomes more wealthy and selective because of the market’s rising costs, the need to upgrade older homes to be competitive drives additional renovation. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Rising labor costs send the price of house construction skyward," 17 Dec. 2018 In our times together, our big, wonderful, and competitive family saw the personal goodness that lead to his historical greatness. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Read the Full Transcript of George P. Bush's Eulogy for His Grandfather, George H.W. Bush," 6 Dec. 2018 Brazil’s voter reform, though, seems to have been reasonably successful at making for more democratic and competitive elections. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "Study: election reforms in Brazil might have saved children’s lives. Here’s how.," 3 Dec. 2018 However, the additional health features, such as fall detection or ECG capabilities, keep the Apple Watch competitive and highly ranked. — Krysia Lenzo, Fox News, "Apple Watch review roundup: The hype is real for the best smartwatch on the market," 19 Sep. 2018 Mix it up with classic car games like Road Trip Bingo, turning common sights like police cars, airplanes, and stop signs into an interactive — and competitive — game. — Nadine Jolie Courtney, Redbook, "Genius Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy on Road Trips," 16 Aug. 2018 Still, Lahey says the Australian music scenes are anything but competitive. — Billboard, "The Down Underdogs: Australian Alternative Artists on Making it Big in America and at Home," 13 July 2018 Three decades later, his competitive drive still burns brightly but his fundamental understanding of his place in the coaching universe is different. — Matt Le Cren, chicagotribune.com, "Welcome to the hall: Naperville Central coach Ed Watson looks back on stellar 26-year career in girls soccer," 13 July 2018

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.

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Dictionary Entries near competitive

competitive exclusion

competitive point

competitor

Statistics for competitive

Last Updated

17 Feb 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for competitive

The first known use of competitive was in 1829

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More Definitions for competitive

competitive

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of competitive

: 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

See the full definition for competitive in the English Language Learners Dictionary

competitive

adjective

com·pet·i·tive | \ kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv