compete

English · Español · Italiano · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

compete

/kəmˈpiːt/
/kəmˈpiʈ/ South Asia
/ˈkɔmpiʈ/ South Asia

Rhymes with -iːt

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Middle French competer, from Latin competere (“to coincide, to be equal to, to be capable of”), from com- (“with”) + petō (“to seek; to aim for, strive for”). Compare Latin competītor (“competitor”).

verb competes · competing · competed

To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend. Negga, who was born in Ethiopia but grew up in Limerick, already has a clutch of Best Actress nominations under her belt for Loving but this is the most high profile to date. She's won rave reviews for her performance since the movie's premiere at Cannes in May, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.
To be in a position in which it is possible to win or triumph. Now, when it comes to meeting the larger challenges we face as a nation, I realize that finding this unity is easier said than done – especially in Washington. But if we want to compete on the world stage as well as we’ve competed in the world’s games, we need to find common ground.
To take part in a contest, game or similar event.
To strive to achieve or obtain something which another also strives for, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Opposite: cooperate

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: vie, contend, competition, rivalry, rival, competitive, competitiveness, fight, strive, conquer, argue, contest, stand, participate, apply, contribute

verb

Opposite: cooperate

Translations

Every language

verb to contend

Español	competir, competer (disused)
日本語	争う arasou, 競う kisou, 競争する kyōsō suru, 勝負する shōbu suru
中文	競爭 /竞争 jìngzhēng, 高下 gāoxià
Kiswahili	wania
Português	competir, rivalizar
Français	rivaliser, concourir
Deutsch	streiten, konkurrieren, (sich) messen
Italiano	competere, gareggiare
Русский	соревнова́ться sorevnovátʹsja, состяза́ться sostjazátʹsja, конкури́ровать konkurírovatʹ, сопе́рничать sopérničatʹ
العربية	تَنَافَسَ tanāfasa, تَبَارَى tabārā
עברית	התחרה hitkhará

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"compete." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/compete. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

compete. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/compete

Chicago

"compete." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/compete.

BibTeX

@misc{compete_2026,
  title = {compete},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/compete},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}