What does competition mean?
Competition refers to the act of striving to gain or achieve something by contending with others who are seeking the same goal, whether in sport, business, academia, or everyday life. It also denotes an organized event or contest in which participants vie for a prize, as in a chess competition or a poetry competition. In commercial contexts, competition describes the rivalry between firms offering similar goods or services, often praised for driving innovation and lowering prices. The word carries connotations of effort, ambition, and sometimes tension, though it can be framed positively (healthy competition) or negatively (cut-throat competition). Derived from the Latin competere, 'to strive in common,' it remains one of the most versatile and frequently used nouns in English, spanning casual conversation and technical economic discourse alike.
The activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.
"There was intense competition between the two firms for the government contract."
Usually uncountable when referring to rivalry in general.
An organized event or contest in which people compete to win a prize.
"The newspaper runs an annual short-story competition for young writers."
Countable in this sense; the plural 'competitions' refers to multiple such events.
The rivals or opposition one faces, especially in business (informal: 'the competition').
"Our new product will give us an edge over the competition."
The plural refers to multiple distinct contests or events. When competition denotes rivalry in general or the opposition one faces, it is normally used as an uncountable noun and has no plural.
"She has won prizes in several international piano competitions."
Competition comes from the Latin competere — literally 'to strive together' — meaning that to compete originally meant to seek something alongside others, not against them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of competition
Competition derives from the Latin verb competere, formed from com- ('together') and petere ('to seek, strive after'). In Latin it meant to strive in common or to seek something at the same time as another, and it entered English in the early 17th century, initially in legal and commercial senses before broadening to contests and rivalry generally. The same root, petere, gives English a family of related words including compete, petition, appetite, and perpetual.
Related word forms
How competition is actually used
Competition is standard in both formal and informal registers. In economics and business contexts it is often treated as uncountable ('competition drives prices down'), while an organized event is countable ('a baking competition'). The plural 'competitions' refers to multiple distinct contests or events.
Easily confused with competition
A competitor is a person or firm taking part in the contest, while competition is the contest itself or the rivalry among participants.