# compete

/kəmˈpit/ (US) · /kəmpˈiːt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/compete
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to take part in a contest

verb · CEFR A2

to take part in a race, a game, or a competition.

For teachers: to participate in an organized event or contest against other participants.

- Thousands of runners from all over the world compete in the London Marathon every year.
- Professional athletes often spend years training for the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games, where the margin between victory and defeat is measured in milliseconds.

Usage: Usually takes the preposition 'in' for the event and 'against' or 'with' for the opponent.

### 2. to strive for success in business

verb · CEFR B1

to try to be better or more successful than other people or companies.

For teachers: to strive to gain or win something that another is also trying to gain, such as market share or a specific reward.

- Small local shops find it very difficult to compete with large supermarkets on price.
- In a globalized economy, corporations must constantly innovate to compete effectively against emerging tech firms that offer lower overhead costs and faster delivery times.

Usage: Commonly followed by 'with' or 'against' to identify the rival entity.

### 3. to be good enough to win

verb · CEFR B2

to be as good as others so that you have a chance of winning.

For teachers: to possess the necessary quality or skill to be a viable contender in a specific arena.

- The team played well, but they simply couldn't compete at this high level.
- While the prototype showed promise, the engineering team realized the current battery life was insufficient to compete in the premium smartphone market.

Teaching tip: This sense often appears in the negative ('cannot compete') to describe something that is not of a high enough standard.

## Examples

- Many athletes compete in the Olympic Games.
- Local businesses must compete with large international companies to attract new customers in the city center.
- While the two software firms compete fiercely for market share in the mobile sector, they often collaborate on industry-wide security standards to protect their users.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.