Compete is to take part in a contest or rivalry — compete in the final. Complete is to finish, or as an adjective, whole — complete the form, a complete set. Learners swap them constantly; the words are unrelated.
The core difference
- compete — verb: to try to win against others. Twelve teams will compete, compete for attention, we can't compete on price.
- complete — verb: to finish. Complete the survey. Adjective: whole, finished, total. The complete works, a complete stranger, the job is complete.
The tell
The families never cross. Compete gives competition, competitor, competitive. Complete gives completion, completely, incomplete. Say the derived word and the right spelling follows: a competitor competes; completion completes. The l is the whole difference on the page.
In use
- compete — Eight nations will compete for the title. We can't compete on price.
- complete — Complete the form in block capitals. The set is now complete.
Common slips
- please compete the form → please complete the form
- we complete with bigger firms → we compete with bigger firms
Competitors compete; completion completes.
Where the words come from
Compete is from Latin competere, "to strive together, to seek the same thing" — com- plus petere "to seek", the root of petition. Complete is from Latin complere, "to fill up" — com- plus plere "to fill", the root of plenty and supply. Only the prefix is shared.
