competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv 

1

: relating to, characterized by, or based on competition

competitive sports

a competitive marketplace

2

: inclined, desiring, or suited to compete

a competitive personality

competitive interest rates

3

: depending for effectiveness on the relative concentration of two or more substances

competitive inhibition of an enzyme

competitively adverb

competitiveness noun

Examples of competitive in a Sentence

She is a very competitive player.

You need a degree to be competitive in today's job market.

Recent Examples on the Web

Music's biggest stars are squaring off Sunday at an especially competitive Grammy ceremony. —Adam Tamburin, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025

The 2025 Caribbean Series is set to bring baseball's best to Mexicali, Mexico, as the annual tournament showcases some of the region's most passionate and competitive teams. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025

Modernizing systems, whether through better insulation, smarter energy recovery, or efficient transportation, leads to cost savings, higher profits, and a more competitive economy. —Felicia Jackson, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2025

If the filters are hard to get around, however, the models will inevitably prove less useful and could become less competitive on the global market. —Zeyi Yang, WIRED, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see competition

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing competitive

• hyper-competitive

Kids Definition

competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv 

: relating to, characterized by, or based on competition

competitive sports

competitive bidding

competitively adverb

competitiveness noun

Medical Definition

competitive

adjective

com·​pet·​i·​tive kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv 

: depending for effectiveness on the relative concentration of two or more substances

competitive inhibition of an enzyme

competitive protein binding

competitively adverb