Definition

1. Noun:
   • A contest or event in which people or teams compete to win: "Competition" refers to an organized event where participants strive to achieve victory or a prize.
   • The activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others: This meaning describes the general process of rivalry, often in business, sports, or other fields.
   • The person or people one is competing against; rivals: In this sense, "competition" collectively refers to the opponents or other entities one is trying to outperform.

Usage and Examples

• Referring to an event:

  • The school is hosting a poetry competition next week.
  • She won first place in the national science competition.

• Referring to the act of competing:

  • There is intense competition for university places.
  • Fair competition drives innovation in the market.

• Referring to rivals:

  • Our prices must be lower than the competition.
  • We need to analyze what the competition is doing.

Advanced Usage

• "In competition with": Directly competing against someone or something.

  • Our company is in direct competition with several larger firms.

• "Fierce/keen/stiff competition": Intense rivalry.

  • There is fierce competition for the best jobs.

• "To enter into competition": To begin competing.

  • The new company entered into competition with the established brands.

Variants and Related Words

• Compete (verb): To strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.

  • Athletes from all over the world will compete in the Olympics.

• Competitive (adjective):

  • Relating to or characterized by competition.

    • He has a very competitive nature.
  • As good as or better than others of a comparable nature.

    • Our product is very competitive in terms of price.

• Competitor (noun): A person or organization that competes against others; a rival.

  • Our main competitor has just launched a new product.

Synonyms

• Contest: An event in which people compete for supremacy.
• Rivalry: Competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.
• Tournament: A series of contests between a number of competitors, competing for an overall prize.

Antonyms

• Cooperation: The process of working together to the same end.
• Collaboration: The action of working with someone to produce something.

Idioms and Phrases

• "The competition is heating up": The rivalry is becoming more intense.

  • With three new companies entering the market, the competition is really heating up.

• "Out of the competition": No longer able to compete; eliminated.

  • After losing the semi-final, our team was out of the competition.

• "To beat the competition": To defeat one's rivals.

  • We need a unique strategy to beat the competition.

Noun

1. the contestant you hope to defeat
   • he had respect for his rivals
   • he wanted to know what the competition was doing
2. the act of competing as for profit or a prize
   • the teams were in fierce contention for first place
3. an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants
4. a business relation in which two parties compete to gain customers
   • business competition can be fiendish at times