Definition of: competition

(kom′pə·tish′ ən) noun
1. Contention of two or more for the same object or for superiority; rivalry.
2. The independent endeavor of two or more persons to obtain the business patronage of a third by offering more advantageous terms; also, the conditions which this endeavor produces. Synonyms: contest, emulation, opposition, rivalry. Competition is the striving for something that is sought by another at the same time. Emulation regards the abstract, competition the concrete; rivalry is the same in essential meaning with competition, but differs in the nature of the objects contested for. We speak of competition in business, emulation in scholarship, rivalry in love, politics, etc. Competition may be friendly, rivalry is commonly hostile. Compare AMBITION, EMULATION. Antonyms: agreement, association, alliance, combination, confederacy, harmony, monopoly, union. In business and commercial use, the chief antonym of competition is monopoly, which by bringing all engaged in an industry under a single control forbids them to compete. [<L competitio, -onis <competere COMPETE]