competition
Other forms: competitions
If you are trying to win or attempting to prove you're the best, you're in a competition. The word also describes your opponent in sports, business, and politics.
If you're trying to beat out someone else — whether in the Olympics or a pie-baking contest — it's a competition, and the other contestants are called the competition too. If you describe something as a "friendly competition," you're saying the outcome isn't critical, or there's no money involved. If you do something impressive in order to win, people will say competition brings out the best in you. If you try to injure your opponent, they'll say it brings out the worst.
Definitions of competition
-
the act of competing as for profit or a prize
-
synonyms:
contention, rivalry
-
Antonyms:
-
cooperation
joint operation or action
-
types:
- show 4 types...
- hide 4 types...
-
contest
a struggle between rivals
-
battle of wits
a contest in which intelligence rather than violence is used
-
bidding contest
a series of competing bids
-
popularity contest
competition (real or figurative) for popular support
-
type of:
-
group action
action taken by a group of people
-
cooperation
-
a business relation in which two parties compete to gain customers“business competition can be fiendish at times”
-
types:
-
price competition, price war
intense competition in which competitors cut retail prices to gain business
-
type of:
-
business relation
a relation between different business enterprises
-
price competition, price war
-
an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants
-
synonyms:
contest
-
types:
- show 74 types...
- hide 74 types...
-
game
a single play of a sport or other contest
-
athletic competition, athletic contest, athletics
a contest between athletes
-
bout
a contest or fight (especially between boxers or wrestlers)
-
championship
a competition at which a champion is chosen
-
chicken
a foolhardy competition; a dangerous activity that is continued until one competitor becomes afraid and stops
-
cliffhanger
a contest whose outcome is uncertain up to the very end
-
dogfight
a fiercely disputed contest
-
race
a contest of speed
-
tournament, tourney
a sporting competition in which contestants play a series of games to decide the winner
-
playoff
any competition to determine a championship
-
series
(sports) several contests played successively by the same teams
-
field trial
a contest between gun dogs to determine their proficiency in pointing and retrieving
-
match
a formal contest in which two or more persons or teams compete
-
tournament
a series of jousts between knights contesting for a prize
-
race
any competition
-
spelldown, spelling bee, spelling contest
a contest in which you are eliminated if you fail to spell a word correctly
-
trial
(sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications
-
derby
a contest or race open to any interested contestants
-
pageant
a contest in which competitors’ beauty is judged
-
away game, road game
a game played away from home
-
home game
a game played at home
-
exhibition game, practice game
a game whose outcome is not recorded in the season's standing
-
nightcap
the final game of a double header
-
double feature, doubleheader, twin bill
two games instead of one (especially in baseball when the same two teams play two games on the same day)
-
playoff game
one game in the series of games constituting a playoff
-
cup tie
an eliminating game between teams in a cup competition
-
decathlon
an athletic contest consisting of ten different events
-
Olympiad, Olympic Games, Olympics
the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country
-
Special Olympics
an athletic contest modeled after the Olympic Games but intended for mentally or physically handicapped persons
-
prelim, preliminary
a minor match preceding the main event
-
pentathlon
an athletic contest consisting of five different events
-
auto race, automobile race, car race
a race between (usually high-performance) automobiles
-
bicycle race
a race between people riding bicycles
-
boat race
a race between people rowing or driving boats
-
burnup
a high-speed motorcycle race on a public road
-
chariot race
a race between ancient chariots
-
dog racing
a race between dogs; usually an occasion for betting on the outcome
-
foot race, footrace, run
a race run on foot
-
freestyle
a race (as in swimming) in which each contestant has a free choice of the style to use
-
cross country
a long race run over open country
-
heat
a preliminary race in which the winner advances to a more important race
-
horse race
a contest of speed between horses; usually held for the purpose of betting
-
potato race
a novelty race in which competitors move potatoes from one place to another one at a time
-
sack race
a novelty race in which competitors jump ahead with their feet confined in a sack
-
scratch race
a race in which all contestants start from scratch (on equal terms)
-
ski race, skiing race
a race between people wearing skis
-
relay, relay race
a race between teams; each member runs or swims part of the distance
-
repechage
a race (especially in rowing) in which runners-up in the eliminating heats compete for a place in the final race
-
World Cup
a soccer tournament held every four years between national soccer teams to determine a world champion
-
elimination tournament
a tournament in which losers are eliminated in successive rounds
-
open
a tournament in which both professionals and amateurs may play
-
home stand
a series of successive games played at a team's home field or court
-
World Series
series that constitutes the playoff for the baseball championship
-
boxing match
a match between boxers; usually held in a boxing ring
-
chess match
a match between chess players
-
cockfight
a match in a cockpit between two fighting cocks heeled with metal gaffs
-
cricket match
a match between two cricket teams
-
diving, diving event
an athletic competition that involves diving into water
-
field event
a competition that takes place on a field rather than on a running track
-
final
the final match between the winners of all previous matches in an elimination tournament
-
quarterfinal
one of the four competitions in an elimination tournament whose winners go on to play in the semifinals
-
semi, semifinal
one of the two competitions in the next to the last round of an elimination tournament
-
round robin
a tournament in which every contestant plays every other contestant
-
meet, sports meeting
a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held
-
swimming event
an athletic competition that involves swimming
-
tennis match
a match between tennis players
-
match game, matched game, test match
an international championship match
-
wrestling match
a match between wrestlers
-
hop-step-and-jump, triple jump
an athletic contest in which a competitor must perform successively a hop and a step and a jump in continuous movement
-
tug-of-war
a contest in which teams pull of opposite ends of a rope; the team dragged across a central line loses
-
arms race
a competition between nations to have the most powerful armaments
-
campaign, political campaign, run
a race between candidates for elective office
-
triathlon
an athletic contest consisting of three different events (typically running, swimming, and cycling)
-
biathlon
an athletic contest consisting of two different events (typically cross-country skiing and rifle shooting)
-
type of:
-
social event
an event characteristic of persons forming groups
-
the contestant you hope to defeat“he wanted to know what the competition was doing”
-
synonyms:
challenger, competitor, contender, rival
-
types:
- show 14 types...
- hide 14 types...
-
champ, champion, title-holder
someone who has won first place in a competition
-
comer
someone with a promising future
-
finalist
a contestant who reaches the final stages of a competition
-
enemy, foe, nemesis
a personal enemy
-
favorite, favourite, front-runner
a competitor thought likely to win
-
king, queen, world-beater
a competitor who holds a preeminent position
-
runner-up, second best
the competitor who finishes second
-
scratch
a competitor who has withdrawn from competition
-
semifinalist
one of four competitors remaining in a tournament by elimination
-
street fighter
a contestant who is very aggressive and willing to use underhand methods
-
tier
any one of two or more competitors who tie one another
-
tilter
someone who engages in a tilt or joust
-
mortal enemy
an enemy who wants to kill you
-
record-breaker, record-holder
someone who breaks a record
-
type of:
-
contestant
a person who participates in competitions
Pronunciation
US
/ˈkɑmpəˌtɪʃən/
UK
/kɑmpəˈtɪʃən/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘competition'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up competition for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
