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
Wild turkeys have a wildly competitive social system, with combat and other dominance displays laying the groundwork for pecking order.
—
Alice Jones Webb, Outdoor Life, 21 Mar. 2025
The program would need to be trained on a huge amount of high-quality writing to be competitive with products such as ChatGPT, and acquiring all of that text legally could take time.
—Alex Reisner, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
Two weeks to design a team from scratch that could win in the brutally competitive Big Ten Conference and return Maryland to the NCAA Tournament.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2025
This adaptability is increasingly essential in competitive markets, where being first to innovate can provide a decisive edge.
—Eli David, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for competitive
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Alice Jones Webb, Outdoor Life, 21 Mar. 2025
The program would need to be trained on a huge amount of high-quality writing to be competitive with products such as ChatGPT, and acquiring all of that text legally could take time.
—Alex Reisner, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2025
Two weeks to design a team from scratch that could win in the brutally competitive Big Ten Conference and return Maryland to the NCAA Tournament.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2025
This adaptability is increasingly essential in competitive markets, where being first to innovate can provide a decisive edge.
—Eli David, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for competitive
Cite this Entry
“Competitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competitive. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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