as in competitive
having or marked by a strong desire to win or be better than others
The competing salespeople were all trying to lure the same customers.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in contending
to engage in a contest
prizefighters competing for the world heavyweight championship
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 competing
Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
No more competing Monday night windows.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Truth is a public good Politics is not a seminar in absolute clarity, and competing claims are always part of the process.
—Stephanie A, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2026
Like the Joker, O’Leary tends to give competing origin stories for his nickname.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
In comparison, Paramount Skydance, with its hostile and competing bid for WBD, saw its stock rise just over 29 percent so far in 2025 after closing at $13.50 on Dec. 29.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Dec. 2025
The Department intends to stop funding both 2025 new awards and non-competing continuations for these seven grant programs.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Men’s singles champion Jannik Sinner of Italy and women’s singles champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus return to defend their titles, along with American tennis stars Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys and more competing.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2025
Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 May 2026
The competing offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo should answer that question.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2026
The Sun were still competing down the stretch, but even with the Aces’ starters off the floor for much of the final frame, the Sun got outscored 20-16.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
There’s one Mexican dad named Juan competing for the million-dollar prize.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Beneath its breezy surface, the movie is grappling with these knotted questions of gender, choice, ambition and identity — just like Gabrielle, hurtling through her day, is constantly negotiating competing urges, figuring out how to wrest meaning from her existence.
—Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The first one, Chad Burns, is a barbecue pitmaster who started competing more than 20 years ago.
—Kansas City Star, 13 May 2026
Teams competing in the annual Over the Line championship tournament, which takes place the first and second weekends in July, will also be at the event.
—Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2026
Second, colleges and conferences are competing businesses that use NCAA rules to limit how each can compete for college athletes’ services.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 May 2026
Adjective
Establishing an entirely new and competing agency is merely the pursuit of a bureaucratic gravy train, and providing it with incentives to abuse power in order to boost its own coffers is an invitation to tyranny.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
No more competing Monday night windows.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Truth is a public good Politics is not a seminar in absolute clarity, and competing claims are always part of the process.
—Stephanie A, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2026
Like the Joker, O’Leary tends to give competing origin stories for his nickname.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
In comparison, Paramount Skydance, with its hostile and competing bid for WBD, saw its stock rise just over 29 percent so far in 2025 after closing at $13.50 on Dec. 29.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Dec. 2025
The Department intends to stop funding both 2025 new awards and non-competing continuations for these seven grant programs.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Men’s singles champion Jannik Sinner of Italy and women’s singles champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus return to defend their titles, along with American tennis stars Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys and more competing.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Teams are at the center of the action when competing against another, complete with the celebrations and disappointments that are the hallmarks of any game show.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 May 2026
The competing offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo should answer that question.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2026
The Sun were still competing down the stretch, but even with the Aces’ starters off the floor for much of the final frame, the Sun got outscored 20-16.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
There’s one Mexican dad named Juan competing for the million-dollar prize.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Beneath its breezy surface, the movie is grappling with these knotted questions of gender, choice, ambition and identity — just like Gabrielle, hurtling through her day, is constantly negotiating competing urges, figuring out how to wrest meaning from her existence.
—Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The first one, Chad Burns, is a barbecue pitmaster who started competing more than 20 years ago.
—Kansas City Star, 13 May 2026
Teams competing in the annual Over the Line championship tournament, which takes place the first and second weekends in July, will also be at the event.
—Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2026
Second, colleges and conferences are competing businesses that use NCAA rules to limit how each can compete for college athletes’ services.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for competing
Adjective
-
The Huskies bounced back from a 17-3 loss to Texas A&M on Friday to get a win and earn a rematch, then played a much more competitive game against the Aggies, making a number of stellar defensive plays to stay close for most of the game.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
Building on this experience, IDOM will continue with its technological development, working towards a commercial-sized WEC that will produce electricity at a competitive price.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
This is where those pieces of history come into play, since jockeys riding notable contending horses are more likely to get TV face time.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
15 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, the city of San Diego refused to issue permits, contending the project of 139 hotel rooms and 75 apartments above ground-floor shops is not legal as proposed.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Strangers in rival teams’ colors shared blunts.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong let a rival fan have it during a heated, NSFW screaming match on Sunday, playing the White Sox.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
After a limp 2-0 defeat at Lorient in mid-April, Benatia criticised the players for a lack of fighting spirit.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Democrats are also fighting among themselves.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
The driver was also placed on a non-driving status pending the results of the investigation.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Nor will this anti-driving VMT policy meaningfully affect the global climate.—
Jennifer Hernandez,
Washington Post,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Both companies are racing for the public market, with SpaceX expected to disclose its prospectus as soon as this week, ahead of what could be a record offering next month.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
18 May 2026
-
The company is racing to have Starship ready for next year’s revamped Artemis III mission, which calls for Starship’s upper stage to rendezvous with NASA’s Orion capsule — the same vehicle that carried the Artemis II astronauts around the moon last month — while orbiting Earth.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
An inning after his defensive flub, Hernández connected on another breaking ball, lining a base hit to left and hustling in to second base to set up what would be Call’s go-ahead hit.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The hustling spirit of the gold rush lives on today in the prospecting influencers who toil in the content mines of the Internet, hoping to hit the viral mother lode.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
As Africa's second-largest country by land area, Congo's provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
-
The thesis of Brady’s commencement, though, was battling through adversity and never quitting, and the best way for Brady to tell his motivational message was by telling the story of his Super Bowl LI comeback against the Atlanta Falcons.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Competing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competing. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
