Word family noun competition competitor competitiveness adjective competitive ≠ uncompetitive competing verb compete adverb competitively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcompetitioncom‧pe‧ti‧tion /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃən $ ˌkɑːm-/ ●●● S2 W1 noun 1 [uncountable]COMPETE WITH/TRY TO BEAT a situation in which people or organizations try to be more successful than other people or organizations → compete, competitorcompetition for Competition for the job was intense.competition between/among Sometimes there’s a lot of competition between children for their mother’s attention. This price reduction is due to competition among suppliers.competition in competition in the automobile industryfierce/stiff/intense etc competition There is fierce competition between the three leading soap manufacturers.be in competition with somebody/something Government departments are in direct competition with each other for limited resources.in the face of competition (from somebody/something) (=in a situation where you are competing with someone or something) Small grocery stores are going out of business in the face of stiff competition from the large supermarket chains.2 [singular, uncountable]COMPETE WITH/TRY TO BEAT the people or groups that are competing against you, especially in business or in a sport → compete, competitor Going to trade fairs is an ideal opportunity to size up the competition.no/not much/little etc competition (=no one who is likely to be better than you) Jones is certain to win the race; there’s just no competition.a lot of/considerable/fierce etc competition The team overcame fierce competition for their place in the finals.foreign/international competition (=companies from other countries that you are competing with) Japanese PC makers now face foreign competition in their home market.3 [countable]COMPETITION an organized event in which people or teams compete against each other → competitor a photography competitioncompetition to do something a competition to find a designer for the new building Teams from high schools all over the state have entered the competition. With France out of the competition, England have a great chance to win.COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: a situation in which people or organizations try to be more successful than other people or organizationsverbsface competition (from somebody)Website designers face increasing competition.beat off/fight off competitionShe beat off competition from dozens of other candidates to get the job.adjectivesstrong/serious competitionThe company is facing strong competition in the market.stiff//tough/fierce/intense/keen competition (=strong competition)There is stiff competition for places at the best universities.cut-throat competition (=very strong competition)The cutthroat competition in the airline industry kept prices low for many years.increasing/growing competitionthe growing competition between banksfair competitionFair competition offers the best guarantee of good services and low prices.unfair competitionThis will protect the industry from unfair competition from abroad.open competition (=a situation that offers anyone a chance to be successful)We welcome open competition in the software market.phrasesin the face of competition (=in a situation where you are competing to be successful)They won the contract in the face of tough competition. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: an organized event in which people or teams compete against each otherverbstake part in a competitionTen schools took part in the competition.enter a competitionYou must be over 16 to enter the competition.win a competitionLucy was thrilled to hear that she had won the short-story competition.come first/second/third etc in a competitionStuart came second in the swimming competition.have/hold a competitionEach year the school holds a painting competition.run a competition (=organize it)The company is running an inventions competition with a first prize of £1,000.launch a competition (=start it)We’re launching a competition to find the best young designer.judge a competition (=decide who has won it)A panel of five will judge the competition.withdraw from a competition (=not take part, when you had planned to)He had to withdraw from the competition because of an injury.be out of a competition (=no longer be in a competition because you have been defeated)Our team scored the fewest points so we were out of the competition.put/knock somebody out of a competition (=defeat someone so that they are no longer in a competition)They put us out of the competition in the semi-final last year.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + competitiona football/music/essay etc competitionThere’s a music competition in the town on June 12th.a writing/painting/dancing etc competitionGreg won the school public-speaking competition.a sporting/sports competitionThere is an increasing demand to watch sporting competitions.a national/international/European etc competitionHer oldest daughter has taken part in national competitions.an annual competitionLast year he won the magazine’s annual photo competition.an open competition (=that everyone can take part in)An open competition is to be held at the tennis club.a knock-out competition British English (=in which if you lose a game, you are no longer in the competition)a newspaper competition (=organized by and advertised in a newspaper)I entered a newspaper competition for young photographer of the year.phrasesthe result of a competitionThe result of the competition will be announced on April 3rd.the winner of a competitionJane was the clear winner of the competition.the rules of a competitionMake sure you understand the rules of the competition.a competition is open to somebody (=used to say who can enter a competition)The competition is open to artists between 16 and 25 years old. THESAURUScompetition an organized event in which people or teams compete against each other, especially in order to win a prizeMy sister entered a dance competition.The winner of the competition will be announced in June.contest a competition in which people do an activity, and a group of judges decide the winnera beauty contesta contest to find America’s strongest manchampionship an important sports competition to find the best player or team in the world or in a particular areathe European Athletics ChampionshipBrazil went on to win the world championship.tournament a competition in a sport or game, in which many players or teams compete against each other until there is one winnera golf tournamentquiz a competition in which people have to answer questionsa TV quiz showpart of a competitionround one of the parts of a competition that you have to finish or win before you can go on to the next partHenman lost in the second round of the competition.heat one of several races or competitions whose winners then compete against each otherShe came second in her heat, with a time of 23.2 seconds. Examples from the Corpus
competition• Competition for these jobs is very tough - we had over 200 applicants.• The company developing the site had held a competition to find a master-planner.• They're holding a competition to come up with a name for the new bridge.• A spelling bee is a competition in which people try to correctly spell words.• Hotels in the downtown area were in direct competition with each other.• This emphasises a further point to which domestic competition authorities need to apply their minds.• There is fierce competition for places on the Olympic team.• Enter our free competition and win a weekend in Paris.• Today television networks face increasing competition from cable programming.• There's a lot of competition between the big supermarket chains.• a photography competition• He was awarded first prize in the National Poetry Competition.• A student from St. Paul won the speechwriting competition.• Theater is bound to lose if it enters that competition.• The show's ratings are far behind the competition.• During the year, the competition had involved over 300 teams and 1,500 competitors in the four home countries.• The competition begins at 11 a.m.• Weak management and cut-throat competition put the company out of business.• For instance volunteer groups create external benefits by improving the appearance of the environment, through best-kept village competitions or reclaiming old canals.• He asked whether competition between the old private companies and the newly privatised ones is fair.• Several hundred Directives associated with competition have now been brought into effect.in the face of competition (from somebody/something)• Henceforth the Painswick cloth mills gradually closed in the face of competition.• Similar considerations helped to explain the survival of the provincial dailies in the face of competition from the nationals.foreign/international competition• The situation changed when the recession of the early 1990s led to much fiercer international competition and emphasis on cost-cutting.• Third, all three continued to be engaged in international competition.• She has won first prize in international competitions in Paris and Flanders.• In the best traditions of international competition she emphasized the importance of playing the game for its own sake.• As the production of automobiles by domestic manufacturers fell due to foreign competition, Ramsey lost orders.• The bond market, for example, may not be opened to foreign competition until 1995.competition to do something• Think of it as a competition to have the most grandchildren.• The speeches were really like a competition to see, who could manipulate and how they used their power.• And Crufts is not the only animal competition to suffer.• The newly formed bridge companies encouraged competition to keep down prices.• Read in studio A Primary school has won a national competition to produce their own newspaper.• It held freshmen out of competition to give them an extra year to grow and mature.• A firm decision was taken at the onset of the competition to have 12 finalist.From Longman Business Dictionarycompetitioncom‧pe‧ti‧tion /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃənˌkɑːm-/ noun [uncountable]1COMMERCEa situation in which businesses are trying to be more successful than others by selling more goods and services and making more profitCompetition between the two cable companies has driven down the price for program services.They sell everything from food to furniture to fashion, often in direct competition with nearby stores.The company faces stiff competition from Japanese luxury brands. → see also hypercompetition2COMMERCE the competition all the businesses that compete with a particular business, seen as a groupIn the past, Honda has kept ahead of the competition because it was small and fast.Origin competition (1600-1700) Late Latin competitio, from competere; → COMPETE 