How to use compete in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Compete means to be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend. Example: “The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.”

Examples of compete by meaning

verbTo be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.

She's won rave reviews for her performance since the movie's premiere at Cannes in May, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.2016 December 13, “Golden Globes going green again to honour Irish talent”, in RTE
Berg has been trying to find out why we abandoned our intention of competing for the Government prize."1910, Victor Appleton, Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat, page 70
The idea behind Sir Montagu's gift is that there should be for the amateur clubs a trophy which will take the place of the Stanley Cup, now becoming a trophy for which professional clubs will alone compete.1909, Cup for Amateurs

verbTo be in a position in which it is possible to win or triumph.

But if we want to compete on the world stage as well as we’ve competed in the world’s games, we need to find common ground.2010, Barack Obama, Presidential Weekly Address (27 February 2010)

More sentences with compete

The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.From the entry most
You have to be very quick to be able to compete in ad-lib theatrics.From the entry quick
Railroads can only compete fully if their tracks are technically compatible with and linked to each other.From the entry railroad
They will need to step up production if they are going to compete.From the entry step up
If us two competed together, we'd probably score just barely under the middle of the road.From the entry middle of the road
Students compete in various ways to be able to join the law review.From the entry law review
He started a small manufacturing plant, but he couldn't compete with the big boys.From the entry big boy
How can I compete when I get mogged by gigachads as soon as I step outside?From the entry gigachad
Dogs that compete in dog shows are the result of careful dog breeding.From the entry dog breeding
"Mobile service providers compete to offer the best coverage and data plans."From the entry mobile service
The crews competed to cut the most timber.From the entry crew
Allow us to compete on an equal basis.From the entry basis
If you refuse to wear a proper uniform, you will not be allowed to compete and will default this match.From the entry default
Every athlete's dream is to compete at the Olympic Games.From the entry Olympic Games
He competes in IR events at the Paralympics.From the entry IR
The runners competed in the mile.From the entry mile
Like all public expenditure, Access for All has to compete with other deserving demands.2023 August 23, Anthony Lambert, “Expanding the family and disabled markets”, in RAIL, number 990, page 53. From the entry justify
To compete at regional, communautaire, national or international equestrian shows, a horse should be immatriculated to Equibel.2023 December 10, Unattributed, “How to immatriculate a horse to Equibel database?”, in Equibel. From the entry immatriculate
A life-time (paid) immatriculation is required to compete at higher competition levels.2023 December 10, Unattributed, “How to immatriculate a horse to Equibel database?”, in Equibel. From the entry immatriculate
Esperanto is never a speaker’s only language but has to compete with their (usually stronger) other languages.2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “Esperanto and language change” (chapter 25), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language…. From the entry polyglot
“It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event.”2022 September 20, Danya Hajjaji, “‘Really nice guy’: Tom Hardy surprises competitors with entry and victory in martial arts contest”, in…. From the entry take time out
Interests groups compete to have their preferred frames shape policy discussions.2020 May, Kelcie Ralph, Ian Girardeau, “Distracted by “distracted pedestrians”?”, in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary…. From the entry frame
Previously, business owners in Jiasian competed with each other and fought over business opportunities.2018, Lena Dominelli, editor, The Routledge Handbook of Green Social Work, Routledge, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 134. From the entry carbon footprint
ZS (Zelena Stranka, Party of Zagorje) competed in the City of Zagreb, Zagrebačka, and Krapinsko-zagorska counties.2017, Arjan H. Schakel, Regional and National Elections in Eastern Europe: Territoriality of the Vote in Ten Countries, Springer, →ISBN…. From the entry Zagrebačka
Without irrigation, seeds had to be planted farther apart so that they could compete for moisture.2015, Julene Bair, The Ogallala Road: A Story of Love, Family, and the Fight to Keep the Great Plains from Running Dry, Penguin, →ISBN…. From the entry hypergreen
She couldn't compete with the wifeable girls in school like Sade Fulton.2014, Marcus Burke, Team Seven: A Novel, →ISBN. From the entry wifeable
Dunnarts in turn compete with smaller native mammals, such as ningauis and planigales.2013, Astrid Judge, Plant and Animal Conservation, page 12. From the entry planigale
When you're training to compete, you have to focus on details, bringing out small muscles, separation.2012, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, →ISBN. From the entry gains
They came up with a compromise where he could compete in a special swim-off two months later.2012, Dan Stephenson, The Underwater Window, →ISBN. From the entry swim-off
I had to climb it to prove to myself that I could compete at this level.2011, Max Davidson, quoting Dean Jones, “Dean Jones: ‘Get Me a Real Australian’”, in Fields of Courage: The Bravest Chapters in Sport…. From the entry Mount Everest
'Down with your deuces', was the demand after each pair of birds had competed.2010, James Lambie, The Story of Your Life, page 139. From the entry deuce
Oriental girls – and how did she think she could compete with them?2010, Susan Hill, The Shadows in the Street. From the entry scratty
Does he make him compete in a bumfight with the tramp who sits outside Londis?2010, Helen Zaltzman, Olly Mann, Answer Me This, page 118. From the entry bumfight
I was absolutely delighted with the way we competed and the players did me proud.2008 May 13, “Calderwood praises character”, in www.sportinglife.com, UK, retrieved 18 Jun 2008. From the entry do someone proud
Krogan males competed for the right to join her band and lie with her.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Canrum. From the entry lie with
Cousino, 24, competes in a variety of disciplines, but said, “Now, jibbing is huge.”2007 February 8, Matt Higgins, “Riding the Rails All Over Union Sq.”, in New York Times. From the entry jibbing

Meaning of compete

verb To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.
verb To be in a position in which it is possible to win or triumph.
verb To take part in a contest, game or similar event.

Full definition of compete

Questions about compete in a sentence

How do you use compete in a sentence?: Compete is used as a verb. For example: “The teams competed to see who could collect (the) most money.”
What is a short sentence with compete?: “The runners competed in the mile.”
What does compete mean?: Compete means to be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.

Adapted from Wiktionary: compete (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use compete in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/compete. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.