rival
n. · v. · adj.-
1 a competitor (n.) B2 Upper Intermediatea person, group, or business that is competing with you for the same thing.
a person, organization, or entity competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.
ExampleThe two companies have been business rivals for over twenty years.
ExampleThe political rivals agreed to a televised debate to clarify their opposing positions on the proposed economic reforms.
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2 to match or equal (v.) C1 Advanced Formalto be as good as, as strong as, or better than someone or something else.
to be comparable to another in quality, size, or merit; often used to indicate that something has reached a high standard.
ExampleThe beauty of the mountains here rivals anything I have seen in Europe.
ExampleThe speed and efficiency of the new processing chip rival those of much more expensive industrial models.
UsageThis is a transitive verb and does not require a preposition like 'with'.
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3 competing (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediatedescribing people or groups that are competing against each other.
competing for the same objective or superiority; typically used attributively before a noun.
ExampleThe project was delayed because of pressure from rival groups in the city.
ExampleRival factions within the party struggled to reach a consensus before the national convention began.
Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”).
- Nounrival
- Nounrivalry
- Adjectiveunrivalled