English Explanatory Dictionary

rival

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor.
  2. Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.
  3. One having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.
adj
  1. Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority.
verb
  1. To oppose or compete with.
  2. To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another.
  3. To strive to equal or excel; to emulate.

Pronunciation

/ˈɹaɪvəl/ en-us-rival.ogg

Word forms

rival rivals rivaling rivalling rivaled rivalled

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”). By surface analysis, Latin rīvus + -al.

Related words

rivulet

Derived words

archrival arch-rival corival nonrival rivaless rivalise rivalism rivality rivalization rivalize rivalless rivalmance rivalry rivalship rivalsome rivalrous outrival unrivalable unrivaled unrivalled
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