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com·pe·ti·tion

(kŏm′pĭ-tĭshən)

1. The act of competing, as for profit or a prize; rivalry.

2. A test of skill or ability; a contest: a skating competition.

3. Rivalry between two or more businesses striving for the same customer or market.

4. A competitor: The competition has cornered the market.

5. Ecology The simultaneous demand by two or more organisms for a limited environmental resource, such as nutrients, living space, or light.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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