com ‧ pe ‧ ti ‧ tion S2 W1 /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃ ə n, ˌkɒmpɪˈtɪʃ ə n $ ˌkɑːm-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ competition , ↑ competitor , ↑ competitiveness ; adjective : ↑ competitive ≠ UNCOMPETITIVE , ↑ competing ; verb : ↑ compete ; adverb : ↑ competitively ]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Late Latin ; Origin: competitio , from competere ; ⇨ ↑ compete ]
1 . [uncountable] a situation in which people or organizations try to be more successful than other people or organizations ⇨ compete , competitor
competition 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 industry
fierce/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] 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] an organized event in which people or teams compete against each other ⇨ competitor :
a photography competition
competition 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 (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ face competition (from somebody)
Website designers face increasing competition.
▪ beat off/fight off competition
She beat off competition from dozens of other candidates to get the job.
■ adjectives
▪ strong/serious competition
The 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 competition
the growing competition between banks
▪ fair competition
Fair competition offers the best guarantee of good services and low prices.
▪ unfair competition
This 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.
■ phrases
▪ in 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 (for Meaning 3)
■ verbs
▪ take part in a competition
Ten schools took part in the competition.
▪ enter a competition
You must be over 16 to enter the competition.
▪ win a competition
Lucy was thrilled to hear that she had won the short-story competition.
▪ come first/second/third etc in a competition
Stuart came second in the swimming competition.
▪ have/hold a competition
Each 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 + competition
▪ a football/music/essay etc competition
There’s a music competition in the town on June 12th.
▪ a writing/painting/dancing etc competition
Greg won the school public-speaking competition.
▪ a sporting/sports competition
There is an increasing demand to watch sporting competitions.
▪ a national/international/European etc competition
Her oldest daughter has taken part in national competitions.
▪ an annual competition
Last 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.
■ phrases
▪ the result of a competition
The result of the competition will be announced on April 3rd.
▪ the winner of a competition
Jane was the clear winner of the competition.
▪ the rules of a competition
Make 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.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ competition an organized event in which people or teams compete against each other, especially in order to win a prize:
My 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 winner:
a beauty contest
|
a contest to find America’s strongest man
▪ championship an important sports competition to find the best player or team in the world or in a particular area:
the European Athletics Championship
|
Brazil 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 winner:
a golf tournament
▪ quiz a competition in which people have to answer questions:
a TV quiz show
■ part of a competition
▪ round one of the parts of a competition that you have to finish or win before you can go on to the next part:
Henman lost in the second round of the competition.
▪ heat one of several races or competitions whose winners then compete against each other:
She came second in her heat, with a time of 23.2 seconds.