- 1 [uncountable] competition (between/with somebody) (for something) a situation in which people or organizations compete with each other for something that not everyone can have There is now intense competition between schools to attract students. We are in competition with four other companies for the contract. We won the contract in the face of stiff competition. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecut-throat, fierce, intense, … verb + competitionbe up against, face, go into, … competition + verbexist, heat up, intensify, … competition + nounlaws prepositionagainst competition, in competition with, in the face of competition, … See full entry See related entries: Economy
- 2 [countable] an event in which people compete with each other to find out who is the best at something a music/photo, etc. competition to enter/win/lose a competition Wordfindercompetitionclosing date, competition, disqualify, judge, prize, round, runner-up, submit, tiebreaker, winner Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveinternational, national, major, … verb + competitionwin, lose, have, … competition + verbtake place, be open to somebody competition + nounwinner, entry, committee, … prepositionin a/the competition, competition between, competition for, … See full entry
- 3the competition [singular + singular or plural verb] the people who are competing against somebody We'll be able to assess the competition at the conference. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + competitionoutperform, blow away, crush, … See full entry Word Originearly 17th cent.: from late Latin competitio(n-) ‘rivalry’, from competere ‘strive for’, from com- ‘together’ + petere ‘aim at, seek’.Extra examples Competition is heating up and sales are shrinking. Fierce competition exists between schools in the area. I won the car in a competition. Public education is run in direct competition with the private sector. She won an international dancing competition. The American women dominated the competition, winning all the events. The competition is open to all readers of the magazine. The gas companies are having to lay off staff in the face of stiff competition from oil. Their rivalry had been one of friendly competition. There is a lot of competition between rival airlines. There is head-to-head competition in production and distribution. They won the order against fierce international competition. This car consistently outperforms the competition. This intensified the competition for the same investors’ funds. We are in competition with some very large companies. We face strong competition from other countries. We’re going to have a competition to see who can swim the fastest. a competition between the best teams in the country a competition for the best chef intense competition for the contract policies aimed at fostering greater competition in the industry to fight off competition from foreign firms to go into competition with British Telecom wines that won medals at major wine competitions I encouraged her to enter the essay competition. The company is having to lay off workers in the face of stiff competition. There will be a painting competition for children of different age groups. They twice won the European Cup, a knockout competition between the top teams in Europe.
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