Definition of competenext
as in to contend
to engage in a contest prizefighters competing for the world heavyweight championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of compete About 7% of high school athletes go on to compete in any sport in college, according to NCAA participation data, and less than 2% receive an academic scholarship. Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026 Another aim of the Saudi gastronomic project—one that seems to compete with the Ducasse of it all—is to make its cuisine more prominent internationally. Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 At DeepMind, Czarnecki focused on multi-agent research, or scenarios in which multiple AI agents have to learn to either cooperate or compete on various tasks. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2026 This is an important game for City Section playoff seeding purposes and also provides more evidence which of these teams will compete for a league title. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for compete
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compete
Verb
  • Kaepernick contends Roc Nation went as far as trying to plant stories about him in the media.
    Michel Martin, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
  • As Sportico explained last week, the conference contends that it and the other 15 member schools should not be compelled to associate with a school that plays athletes who are in violation of conference eligibility rules.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Bangladesh has been racing to halt the outbreak's spread since March, when more than 100 children died in less than a month.
    JULHAS ALAM, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Thomas, who signed with Seattle in free agency, raced over at just the right time to break up a deep pass intended for Doubs.
    Andrew Destin, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The fourth plane was headed for Washington, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • San Francisco must now fight the effects of trying to reset those body clocks back to Pacific Time ahead of the final 16 games, and perhaps that’s Los Angeles’ edge in never changing at all.
    Nate Atkins, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Firefighters were battling a blaze as local authorities searched the area for any additional casualties.
    Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Compete.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compete. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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