noun
rival
REYE-vuhl
noun
1
A person, team, or organisation competing for the same goal as another.
"The two companies have been bitter rivals for market share since the 1990s."
"She trained harder than any of her rivals."
verb
1
To be as good as, or nearly as good as, someone or something else.
"The new stadium rivals anything in Europe."
How to Use Rival
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA competitor going after the same thing you are, or (as a verb) to match something in quality.
Common pairings
rival gang
fierce rival
rival to something
rival for the title
Word Forms
rivalled past tense, rivaled past tense, rivals plural, rivals singular
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The two companies have been bitter _____ for market share since the 1990s.
Etymology
From Latin rivalis, literally "one who uses the same stream as another" — the idea being that neighbours sharing a water source naturally end up in competition.