competes

verb

present tense third-person singular of compete
as in contends
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 competes The process comes with challenges, though, as moving quality enforcement upstream takes engineering effort that competes with delivery deadlines. — Jay Limburn, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 The rollout comes as Netflix competes for audience time from YouTube and social media platforms such as TikTok that have viral videos that can occupy users for hours. — Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 The team competes across the country during its 55- to 60-game season. — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026 Roberto Alvarado of Mexico competes for the ball against Nico O'Reilly and Anthony Gordon of England yesterday. — David Hickey, NBC news, 6 July 2026 Hiltz competes in women’s events, but identifies as non-binary and transgender, using they/them pronouns. — Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 5 July 2026 And mortgage rates won’t go down until government debts and deficits go down — since the housing market competes for borrowing with the federal government. — Andy Harris, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2026 But nothing competes with the painful deterioration of her sight after contracting scarlet fever. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026 The Chevy Silverado is a close cousin to the Sierra 1500, though GMC's model competes at a more premium price point. — Charles Singh, USA Today, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for competes
  1. contends
  2. races
  3. fights
Verb
  • The unsettled conference status for Ursuline is causing the school harm, the complaint contends.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 July 2026
  • On Thursday, federal court records show, attorneys for Marseille filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, seeking damages for what the suit contends was undue use of force.
    — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of contends
Verb
  • As is common with Enola Holmes films, zippy flashbacks and kicky montages illuminate what led up to all of this, but there’s an energy missing here, as the film races to get back into the present Maltese moment, which feels dire indeed.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
  • Anthropic has accused the Chinese firm Alibaba of launching the largest attack yet attempting to clone Claude, as China races to match the capabilities of Anthropic’s leading model following Mythos’ release and subsequent restriction from foreign markets.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 25 June 2026
Definition of races
Verb
  • The court also limited its ruling to the realm of sports, leaving for another day fights over bathroom and locker room access for trans students.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • In Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb, the doors gave way under the pressure of the crowd, and fights broke out among shoppers.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
Definition of fights

Browse Nearby Words

competently
competes
competing
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Cite this Entry

“Competes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competes. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on competes

Nglish: Translation of competes for Spanish Speakers

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