competition
part of speech
noun (competition, uncountable; a competition, competitions)
meaning for a pupil
1) A competition is an organised event where people try to win, such as a race, a quiz or a contest. tree →
2) Competition is the situation when people or teams try to be better or more successful than others. tree →
3) The competition means the people you are competing against. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school, there are spelling competitions, sports competitions, art and science fair competitions. In everyday life and business, shops are in competition for customers. In nature lessons, animals and plants are in competition for food, light and space. Phrases: enter a competition, win a competition, in competition with, healthy competition, tough competition.
examples
- I entered a drawing competition and won second prize. tree →
- There is a lot of competition for places on the team. tree →
- The two shops are in competition with each other. tree →
- Plants in a crowded garden are in competition for sunlight. tree →
- The swimming competition is on Saturday. tree →
- Our school won the quiz competition. tree →
- The competition was tough, but she kept going. tree →
note
Countable for an event (two competitions), uncountable for the idea (there is a lot of competition). The verb is «compete»; a person is a «competitor»; the adjective is «competitive». Trap: spelt «competition» with «-ti-», not «compitition».
In the corpora
- Sheepdog trials are real competitions where dog and shepherd move sheep through gates and into a pen.
- You cannot win a competition you never entered.
- Mia organised a building competition with three themes and a fair rule: nobody judges their own build.
- A fair competition has clear rules, and nobody judges their own work.
- An ethics olympiad is a competition where school teams discuss real dilemmas.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «competition» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.