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compete

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com⋅pete

  [kuhm-peet]
Use compete in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Compete.com
Analyze Competitors Site Data With The Best Competitive Intelligence.
www.Compete.com
com·pete   (kəm-pēt')   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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