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
Julia Teti, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2025
Leaders often underestimate how competing directives erode productivity, burn out top performers, and leave high-value projects under-resourced.
—Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Everybody's always looking, curious, competing and that's a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2025
Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent — teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 29 July 2025
However, competing service providers like AT&T fiber internet often offer faster speeds, unlimited data, fewer fees and longer price guarantees for just a bit more per month.
—Kara McGinley, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Since launching strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday, competing reports have emerged on how significant the damage is.
—Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 27 June 2025
Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent—teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Bloomberg During a combative House committee hearing on immigration policy Thursday, Republicans and Democrats offered competing portraits of a United States under siege.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 12 June 2025
Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
The Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate introduced competing plans to restrict student phone use.
—Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
EVs should be competing in the market based on whether consumers are willing to cover their full and unsubsidized costs.
—Wayne Winegarden, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In large homes or intergenerational spaces, there are many ways to reduce the friction around competing household lighting norms.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2025
Townsend is one of about 100 athletes competing in professional tennis tournaments around the world this year who are backed by Blue Owl.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
This spanned the first 10 days of June, and allowed the tournament’s 32 competing teams to add to their squads ahead of the games beginning on June 14.
—Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
One of the luminaries del Toro and crew are competing against at Venice 2025, interestingly, is Yorgos Lanthimos, who previously proffered his own riff on Frankenstein with Poor Things.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Nigerian banks are facing a challenge from digital-only fintechs competing for customer deposits on the basis of new technology enabling reliable service delivery on smartphones.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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
Leaders often underestimate how competing directives erode productivity, burn out top performers, and leave high-value projects under-resourced.
—Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Everybody's always looking, curious, competing and that's a really difficult thing, especially for a female actor.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2025
Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent — teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 29 July 2025
However, competing service providers like AT&T fiber internet often offer faster speeds, unlimited data, fewer fees and longer price guarantees for just a bit more per month.
—Kara McGinley, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Since launching strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday, competing reports have emerged on how significant the damage is.
—Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 27 June 2025
Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent—teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Bloomberg During a combative House committee hearing on immigration policy Thursday, Republicans and Democrats offered competing portraits of a United States under siege.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 12 June 2025
Verb
Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz heads to quarterfinals Tuesday as the last American competing in the men’s singles tournament.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
The Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate introduced competing plans to restrict student phone use.
—Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
EVs should be competing in the market based on whether consumers are willing to cover their full and unsubsidized costs.
—Wayne Winegarden, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In large homes or intergenerational spaces, there are many ways to reduce the friction around competing household lighting norms.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2025
Townsend is one of about 100 athletes competing in professional tennis tournaments around the world this year who are backed by Blue Owl.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
This spanned the first 10 days of June, and allowed the tournament’s 32 competing teams to add to their squads ahead of the games beginning on June 14.
—Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
One of the luminaries del Toro and crew are competing against at Venice 2025, interestingly, is Yorgos Lanthimos, who previously proffered his own riff on Frankenstein with Poor Things.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Nigerian banks are facing a challenge from digital-only fintechs competing for customer deposits on the basis of new technology enabling reliable service delivery on smartphones.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for competing
Adjective
-
In 2021, the county opened competitive bidding for the project.—
Vinod Sreeharsha,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Two months, one competitive win, one draw and one defeat in charge of Leverkusen.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Los Angeles Chargers Now would be a good time for Justin Herbert to take that leap into becoming a Super Bowl-contending quarterback.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Tucker is likely to be the most coveted available player in the sport with any number of contending teams competing to sign him.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
According to reports, various outside powers in the Middle East, Africa and further afield have provided military assistance to one or other of the rival sides, complicating efforts to end the conflict.—
Robert Birsel
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The stock was down about 2% this year before Tuesday’s pop, significantly lagging the broader market as well as its rival Coca-Cola.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The firm started managing Hamilton’s business affairs in January 2024 and has since expanded to facilitate and support the racer on his business projects, racing career and commercial partnerships with the likes of Lululemon, Dior and Rimowa.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
2 Sep. 2025
-
In Marvel Zombies, after the Avengers are overtaken by a zombie plague, a desperate group of survivors discover the key to bringing an end to the super-powered undead, racing across a dystopian landscape and risking life and limb to save their world.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
New Jersey, ranking third, also has strict driving laws and the third-most driving schools per capita.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Keep going For the rest of the time, the 911 GTS evoked far more driving pleasure.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The emotional ballast of the film — Davidson’s bond with Dottie Achenbach (a wonderful Maxine Peake), the mother of one his childhood friends, who is also fighting her own health battles — also suffers from moments of incoherence, but the immense power of that bond goes a long way.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
-
And while Johnson’s team is still fighting to climb NASCAR’s competitive ladder, results are starting to follow.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But even as side hustling becomes increasingly normalized, the income gap persists.—
Alejandra Rojas,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
-
While hustling to place PeaceWorks products in New York shops, Lubetzky grew frustrated by the lack of healthy snack options, which inspired Kind.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Newcastle, outside the ‘Big Six’ but battling to get in and mostly clear of PSR troubles, completed each of the four biggest deals by an English club not in that group, signing players from Stuttgart, Forest, Brentford and Villa.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
-
For those battling severe disease, foundation staffers can work with you one-on-one to fight a denial.—
Lauren Sausser,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Competing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competing. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share