compete
verb
Simple meaning
To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhmpeetSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəmˈpit
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.
To take part in a contest, game or similar event.
Compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
To strive to achieve or obtain something which another also strives for, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
To be in a position in which it is possible to win or triumph.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.
Used this way, compete is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use compete
- “Friends often compete playfully when they play board games together.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A business relation in which two parties compete to gain customers.
An aggressive willingness to compete.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to be in battle
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.