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View synonyms for

compete

[ kuhm-peet ]

verb (used without object)

competed, competing.
  1. to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in business.

    to compete in a race;

    to compete in business.

    Synonyms:



compete

/ əˈ辱ː /

verb

  1. introften foll bywith to contend (against) for profit, an award, athletic supremacy, etc; engage in a contest (with)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • dz·· noun
  • dz··Բ· adverb
  • ԴDz·dz··Բ adjective
  • dzܳ·dz·ٱ verb (used with object) outcompeted outcompeting
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Word History and Origins

Origin of compete1

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin competere “to meet, coincide, be fitting, suffice” ( Late Latin: “to seek, ask for”), equivalent to com- “with, together” + petere “to seek”; com-. The Late Latin and English senses were influenced by competitor
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Word History and Origins

Origin of compete1

C17: from Late Latin competere to strive together, from Latin: to meet, come together, agree, from com- together + petere to seek
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. cannot/can't compete with, to not be, by a great degree, as good or capable as (someone or something else):

    These roses are lovely, but they can’t compete with the ones we grew back home in Ecuador.

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Synonym Study

Compete, contend, contest mean to strive to outdo or excel. Compete implies having a sense of rivalry and of striving to do one's best as well as to outdo another: to compete for a prize. Contend suggests opposition or disputing as well as rivalry: to contend with an opponent, against obstacles. Contest suggests struggling to gain or hold something, as well as contending or disputing: to contest a position or ground ( in battle ); to contest a decision.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Would you ever consider competing again if the opportunity arose?

From

The FA has continued to allow biological males to compete in the women's game if they show low enough testosterone levels and they are assessed by a match observer.

From

Amazon told the Washington Post it had looked into itemising the costs for customers using Amazon Haul, a low-cost site it launched in the US last year to compete with Shein and Temu.

From

On this day, sitting in his daughter’s house, he is competing against his wife, son-in-law and grandson, all of whom build a wall of game pieces in front of them.

From

There had been no option for her to defer her place until she was fit to compete and it highlighted what she saw as a major issue facing women and mothers.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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compersioncompetence