What does "competition" mean?

1. (an organized event) an event or contest where people try to win a prize by being the best. 2. (the act of competing) the activity of trying to be more successful than someone else. 3. (the rivals) the people or companies that you are competing against.

How do you use "competition"?

Usually a countable noun. Usually an uncountable noun. Used as a collective noun, often with 'the'.

competition — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01an organized event

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. an event or contest where people try to win a prize by being the best.

n. a specific organized event or contest in which participants strive for a prize, award, or ranking.

“She won first place in the school photography competition last year.”

“The international architecture competition attracted entries from over fifty countries, each vying for the chance to design the new city library.”

Usage

Usually a countable noun.

Synonyms

contest tournament match

02the act of competing

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the activity of trying to be more successful than someone else.

n. the abstract process or state of rivalry between individuals, groups, or businesses for success or resources.

“There is a lot of competition between the two local coffee shops.”

“Fierce competition in the smartphone market has forced manufacturers to innovate rapidly while keeping prices relatively stable for consumers.”

Usage

Usually an uncountable noun.

Synonyms

rivalry contention

Antonyms

cooperation collaboration

03the rivals

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the people or companies that you are competing against.

n. the collective group of competitors or rivals within a specific field or market.

“We need to lower our prices because the competition is very strong.”

“By analyzing the competition, the startup identified a gap in the market that the larger corporations had completely overlooked.”

Usage

Used as a collective noun, often with 'the'.

Teaching tip

In British English, this collective noun can take a plural verb (e.g., 'the competition are strong'), whereas American English prefers the singular.

Synonyms

opponents rivals field

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “competition” in context.

01. competition since 02. competition direct 03. direct competition 04. increased competition 05. international competition

Borrowed from French compétition, from Late Latin competītiō, competītiōnem, from Latin competō, from con- + petō. By surface analysis, compete + -ition.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

compete(A2)

NOUN

competition(A2)

ADJECTIVE

ADVERB