Definition of compete in English:

compete

verb

[no object]

1Strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.
‘universities are competing for applicants’
‘he competed with a number of other candidates’
- ‘Cullen says if the NRL schedules games correctly the teams would not be competing for crowds.’
- ‘In particular, the business teams are often competing for corporate resources with other businesses.’
- ‘The war-generated industrial boom competed with the manpower needs of the armies.’
- ‘Two great teams were playing at their highest levels, competing for every inch of ice.’
- ‘We work in teams to tight deadlines and we are competing for clients nationally and internationally.’
- ‘Citroen are a works team, and not a satellite operation competing for a maker like Ford or Subaru.’
- ‘Two two-year-olds are at the table, competing for who can be the loudest and make the adults laugh the most.’
- ‘More people competing for a fixed amount of land within easy access to the big city centres must push up the price of that land.’
- ‘With so much material competing for our attention, we cannot process it all.’
- ‘The world is now competing for knowledge, because information is available to everyone.’
- ‘Group rivalry may have been a good evolutionary strategy when we were competing for the same bananas.’
- ‘Paradoxically, it is a problem of two government schemes competing for scarce funds.’
- ‘It would sound more logical for him to be surrounded by a bevy of beauties competing for his attention.’
- ‘Your best friend was only your best friend as long as he was not competing for the same job.’
- ‘Put simply, there are too many people competing for a tiny slice of the marketplace.’
- ‘From time immemorial, countries have competed with each other.’
- ‘Over time, companies competed with one another in presenting ‘grand’ spectacles.’
- ‘Found in rivers, lakes and other wetlands, they competed with human beings for fish, their main diet, and lost.’
- ‘The sound of the cool wind competed with the output from large speakers as a local music troupe doled out hot Hindi pop and movie numbers.’
- ‘Radio competed with the print media, but soon it became incorporated into the mainstream.’
take part, play, be a contestant, be a competitor, participate, be involved, get involved, engage
contend, vie, fight, battle, clash, tussle, grapple, wrestle, wrangle, jockey, wage war, cross swords, lock horns, go head to head
View synonyms
1. 1.1usually with negative Be able to rival another or others.
  ‘no one can compete with his physical prowess’
  ‘The government is prodding banks to clean up bad loans so they are able to compete with foreign rivals.’
  ‘And the third place is further proof that he is able to compete with the senior drivers around him.’
  ‘Decent bass and good sound quality impressed the reviewers, but it was never going to be able to compete with a larger system.’
  ‘It was an attempt to try and stop the deterioration of the service in order to be able to compete with buses and lorries.’
  ‘You'll never be able to compete with somebody in terms of the talents and endowments that they have.’
  ‘Our small clubs are not able to compete with big clubs in highly populated areas.’
  ‘We're never going to be able to compete with the real big clubs so we have to be realistic.’
  ‘The cost of hiring local caregivers could not be too high to be able to compete with the rates of foreign laborers.’
  ‘Canada will never be able to compete with the United States in terms of size of production budgets.’
  ‘But China is concerned that the domestic banks are not ready to compete with their foreign rivals.’
  ‘In a globalised world it could no longer compete with capitalism and simply gave up, exhausted.’
  ‘It was a fair challenge in my opinion but you can't compete with the goalkeeper any more.’
  ‘Because how can the real thing possibly compete with a million fantasy endings, constructed in a million minds?’
  ‘They were unable to compete with the new massive operators, and like the corner shops, were forced out of business.’
  ‘Traditional fairs like this can't compete with single price theme parks.’
  ‘While incredibly worthy and important, and also very good indeed, there is nothing out there to compete with it.’
  ‘Around dinner tables in the New Town, nothing can compete with property as a topic of conversation.’
  ‘Regional railways simply cannot compete with cheap, efficient and flexible motor transport.’
  ‘I'd say they have actually improved on their last season in the League but nobody can compete with Exeter.’
  rival, challenge, keep up with, keep pace with, compare with, be the equal of, match up to, match, be on a par with, be in the same class as, be in the same league as, come near to, come close to, touch, approach, approximate, emulate
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2. 1.2Take part in a contest.
  ‘he competed in numerous track meets as a child’
  ‘It is important for you to support these contests by competing or by attending them.’
  ‘The company competes in dozens of contests a year, and has won, or reached the finals in, nearly 20 in the three years since its service has been available.’
  ‘May competes in an archery contest with other young women.’
  ‘Only nine months after he started physique training, Williams competed in his first contest.’
  ‘He informed the audience that they were the latest in a long line of students that have competed in the contest.’
  ‘There is a lot of preparation involved in competing in ploughing contests.’
  ‘Each category had a minimum of 30 participants fiercely competing for the honours.’
  ‘This was a great achievement for an Erris team who were competing for the first time in this competition.’
  ‘Women's teams have been competing for the past five years or so in Australia.’
  ‘The day began in Jomtien with eight teams competing for poll position in the daylong event.’
  ‘The race for second spot looks a lot more interesting, though, with three teams competing for one spot.’
  ‘At the moment I am actually at the Goodwill Games where I am competing for the European team.’
  ‘Since Zhang had previously competed with a dash team in Shanghai, she was able to quickly adjust to the grueling exercise routine.’
  ‘Several teams around the world are already competing for the prize.’
  ‘Teams from nine schools are competing for the title of best orator in the business milieu.’
  ‘The youngsters were competing for the first time on snow against seasoned teams.’
  ‘All of the girls on the team are my friends that I competed with when I was at home, so they were looking forward to seeing me.’
  ‘She will be competing for the first time alongside petrol engines at the world record attempt.’
  ‘He has been competing for just over two and half years but has already stamped his class over a host of tremendous fights.’
  ‘It was an overwhelming success with thousands of student bands competing for the coveted title.’
  take part, play, be a contestant, be a competitor, participate, be involved, get involved, engage
  View synonyms