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compete
5 dictionary results for: compete
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
com·pete 
[kuhm-peet] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[kuhm-peet] Pronunciation Key –verb (used without object), -pet·ed, -pet·ing.
| to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, profit, etc.; engage in a contest; vie: to compete in a race; to compete in business. |
[Origin: 1610–20; < L competere to meet, coincide, be fitting, suffice (LL: seek, ask for), equiv. to com- com- + petere to seek; LL and E sense influenced by competitor]
] —Related forms
com·pet·er, noun
com·pet·ing·ly, adverb
—Synonyms struggle. Compete, contend, contest mean to strive to outdo or excel. Compete implies having a sense of rivalry and of striving to do one's best as well as to outdo another: to compete for a prize. Contend suggests opposition or disputing as well as rivalry: to contend with an opponent, against obstacles. Contest suggests struggling to gain or hold something, as well as contending or disputing: to contest a position or ground (in battle); to contest a decision.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| com·pete
(kəm-pēt') Pronunciation Key
intr.v. com·pet·ed, com·pet·ing, com·petes To strive against another or others to attain a goal, such as an advantage or a victory. See Synonyms at rival. [Late Latin competere, to strive together, from Latin, to coincide, be suitable : com-, com- + petere, to seek; see pet- in Indo-European roots.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
compete
compete
1620, from Fr. compéter "be in rivalry with," from L.L. competere "strive in common," in L., "to come together, agree, to be qualified," later, "strive together," from com- "together" + petere "to strive, seek" (see petition). Rare 17c., and regarded early 19c. as a Scottish or Amer.Eng. word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| compete | |
verb | |
| compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Compete
Com*pete"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Competed; p. pr. & vb. n. Competing.] [L. completere, competitum; com- + petere to seek. See Petition.] To contend emulously; to seek or strive for the same thing, position, or reward for which another is striving; to contend in rivalry, as for a prize or in business; as, tradesmen compete with one another. The rival statesmen, with eyes fixed on America, were all the while competing for European alliances. --Bancroft.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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