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On Rivals, Rivaling, and Rivalry
The word rival most commonly refers to a person or group that tries to defeat or be more successful than another person or group, which means that rivals tend to come in pairs. Candidates running for the same political office are political rivals, and two people trying to earn the exclusive affection of a third are romantic rivals. Teams, schools, or companies might be longtime rivals if they try over many years to outdo each other.
Rival can also mean “equal” or “peer.” When the word is used in this way it's usually conveying how good or impressive something or someone is. For example, "a country musician the rival of any in the world" is as good as the best country musicians in the world. Often a negating word is added to assert superiority, as in "a country musician without rival."
As a verb, rival typically has a meaning that relates to this latter sense of the noun. The verb is most often used to say that someone or something possesses qualities or aptitudes that approach or equal those of another. For example, for one country musician to be rivaling another, the first country musician must be as good as or nearly as good as the other musician. (Note that in U.S. English, the verb's forms are usually spelled rivaled and rivaling; in British English rivalled and rivalling are preferred.)
The noun rivalry has to do with the state or situation in which rivals (usually in the “competitor” sense) exist, or in which rivaling happens. In politics we have political rivalries, and in matters of the heart there are romantic rivalries. Sibling rivalry exists when there is competition or jealousy between sisters or brothers.
Synonyms
Examples of rival in a Sentence
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
German industry got rich, thanks partly to its close energy trading relationship with political and economic rival Russia.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 11 Apr. 2024
His closest fund-raising rival, Margaret Franklin, a Prince William County supervisor, raised $122,894.
—Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Jack Eichel, one of the most prominent former players from BC’s fiercest rival, Boston University, supposedly thought Smith deserved to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s top men’s player – ahead of Terriers center Macklin Celebrini.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
Most famously, Simpson scored a 64-yard touchdown to help USC win a crucial game against their big rivals UCLA during the 1967 season.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
At the time of the deal, 99 Cents Only had the second-highest profit margin and the most sales per square foot among its rivals, Bloomberg reported.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
As the hypercompetitive race to enable AI heats up, Google’s rivals likely don’t share that vision.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
For a star of his stature, there are no two better destinations for this switch than the eternal enemies that contest El Clasico, with Madrid looking likely to land Haaland's generational rival Kylian Mbappe this summer.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg.com, 1 Apr. 2024
While Trump Media made just $4.1 million in revenue in 2023, rival X (formerly known as Twitter) raked in more than 100 times that much — $665 million — in 2013, ahead of its initial public offering in November 2013.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Councilmember Joe LaCava, whose district includes La Jolla, said members of the rival group should have an easier time getting elected to the board since the revisions.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2024
When Milan and crosstown rival FC Internazionale (Inter) met for a rare matchup in Europe’s Champions League last May, soccer commentators marveled at the atmosphere fans created in the stadium.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2024
The rival platform is popular enough that its users flooded congressional phone lines earlier this month when prompted to by the app.
—Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
Suddenly, every rival fashion house was seeing dollar signs in accessories.
—The Editors, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2024
That fame turned on its head in late 2022, after rival Binance suddenly walked back on a deal to buy FTX and as investors grew suspicious of the exchange.
—Brian Bushard, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The decision to release the code behind Grok touches on two issues important to Musk: The threat posed by AI and an ongoing battle with rival company OpenAI.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024
Andrew O’Hagan, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
This new deal could rival it, as Shockwave currently has a market capitalization of $12 billion.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 26 Mar. 2024
This rivals some name-brand earbuds that are five-times the price.
—Tim Chan, Variety, 23 Mar. 2024
With white sand and warm, clear waters, Louisiana's beaches could rival any of the most luxurious shorelines on earth.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024
Medical literature further supports the idea that vasectomy appointments spike to a year-high in March, rivaled only by December when many patients have met their deductibles, according to one 2018 study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
How Powerful Is a Gamma-Ray Burst? These massive releases of energy are rivaled by few in terms of sheer ferocity.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The choice of Offenbach’s loony comedy about a pair of starving Peruvian artists and their manipulation by a powerful philandering viceroy was the recommendation of mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard — who sings the title role with disarming comedic chops to rival her formidable pipes.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
This year, the Chevy Riverfront Stage rivals Nissan Stadium for its ones-to-watch lineup.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rival.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin rivalis one using the same stream as another, rival in love, from rivalis of a stream, from rivus stream — more at run
Noun
1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Adjective
1592, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1607, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Phrases Containing rival
Articles Related to rival
Dictionary Entries Near rival
Cite this Entry
“Rival.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rival. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
rival
2 of 3 adjectiverival
3 of 3 verb
Noun
from early French rival "rival," from Latin rivalis "one using the same stream as another, a rival in love," from rivalis (adjective) "of a stream," from rivus "stream"
More from Merriam-Webster on rival
Nglish: Translation of rival for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of rival for Arabic Speakers
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