Definitions for Rival
ˈraɪ vəlri·val

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. rival, challenger, competitor, competition, contenderverb

   the contestant you hope to defeat

   "he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"

2. equal, touch, rival, matchverb

   be equal to in quality or ability

   "Nothing can rival cotton for durability"; "Your performance doesn't even touch that of your colleagues"; "Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents"

3. rivalverb

   be the rival of, be in competition with

   "we are rivaling for first place in the race"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. rivalnoun

   A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) who is well known to another and has similar skills and achievements. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor.

   Chris is my biggest rival in the 400m.

2. rivalnoun

   Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.

   As a social historian, he has no rival.

3. rivalverb

   To oppose or compete with.

4. rivalverb

   To equal to or surpass another.

5. Etymology: From rivalis, literally ‘person using the same stream as another’, from rivus.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Rivaladjective

   Standing in competition; making the same claim; emulous.

   Had I but the means
   To hold a rival place with one of them,
   I should be fortunate. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.

   Equal in years, and rival in renown
   With Epaphus, the youthful Phaeton,
   Like honour claims. Dryden.

   You bark to be employ’d,
   While Venus is by rival dogs enjoy’d. Dryden.

2. RIVALnoun

   Etymology: rivalis, Lat.

   1. One who is in pursuit of the same thing which another man pursues; a competitour.

   Oh love! thou sternly dost thy pow’r maintain,
   And wilt not bear a rival in thy reign;
   Tyrants and thou all fellowship disdain. Dryden.

   2. A competitour in love.

   She saw her father was grown her adverse party, and yet her fortune such as she must favour her rival. Philip Sidney.

   France and Burgundy,
   Great rivals in our younger daughter’s love. William Shakespeare.

   Your rival ’s image in your worth I view;
   And what I lov’d in him, esteem in you. George Granville.

3. To Rivalverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To stand in competition with another; to oppose.

   Those, that have been raised by the interest of some great minister, trample upon the steps by which they rise, to rival him in his greatness, and at length step into his place. South.

   2. To emulate; to endeavour to equal or excel.

   Ambitious fool! with horny hoofs to pass
   O’er hollow arches of resounding brass;
   To rival thunder in its rapid course,
   And imitate inimitable force. John Dryden, Æneis.

4. To Rivalverb

   To be competitours. Out of use.

   Burgundy,
   We first address’d tow’rd you, who with this king
   Have rival’d for our daughter. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rival

   A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant or side a rival to the other. Someone's main rival may be called an archrival. A rivalry can be defined as "a perceptual categorizing process in which actors identify which states are sufficiently threatening competitors". In order for the rivalry to persist, rather than resulting in perpetual dominance by one side, it must be "a competitive relationship among equals". Political scientist John A. Vasquez has asserted that equality of power is a necessary component for a true rivalry to exist, but others have disputed that element.Rivalries traverse many different fields within society and "abound at all levels of human interaction", often existing between friends, firms, sports teams, schools, and universities. Moreover, "families, politicians, political parties, ethnic groups, regional sections of countries, and states all engage in enduring rivalries of varying length and intensity". Rivalries develop from the product of competition and ritualism between different parties. In some cases, rivalry can become "so consuming that actors worry only about whether their actions will harm or benefit their rivals".

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Rivalnoun

   a person having a common right or privilege with another; a partner

2. Rivalnoun

   one who is in pursuit of the same object as another; one striving to reach or obtain something which another is attempting to obtain, and which one only can posses; a competitor; as, rivals in love; rivals for a crown

3. Rivaladjective

   having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority; as, rival lovers; rival claims or pretensions

4. Rivalverb

   to stand in competition with; to strive to gain some object in opposition to; as, to rival one in love

5. Rivalverb

   to strive to equal or exel; to emulate

6. Rivalverb

   to be in rivalry

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Rival

   rī′val, n. one pursuing the same object as another: one who strives to equal or excel another: a competitor.—adj. having the same claims: standing in competition.—v.t. to stand in competition with: to try to gain the same object as another: to try to equal or excel:—pr.p. rī′valling; pa.t. and pa.p. rī′valled.—n. Rī′valess, a female rival.—adj. Rī′val-hāt′ing, jealous.—v.i. Rī′valise, to enter into rivalry.—ns. Rival′ity (Shak.), rivalry, equality in rank or authority; Rī′valry, act of rivalling: competition: emulation; Rī′valship, emulation. [Fr.,—L. rivalis—rivus, a brook.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. RIVAL

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rival is ranked #92358 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Rival surname appeared 199 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Rival.
   
   55.2% or 110 total occurrences were White.
   18.5% or 37 total occurrences were Black.
   18% or 36 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   5.5% or 11 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

1. • Compete

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Rival' in Nouns Frequency: #1593

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Rival' in Adjectives Frequency: #825

Anagrams for Rival »

1. Avril

2. viral

How to pronounce Rival?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Rival in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Rival in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Rival in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of Rival in a Sentence

1. Neil Saunders:

   The board [ of Victoria's Secret ] will need to be careful in charting a new course that resonates with consumers and addresses new competitive challenges such as the rise of rival brands like Aerie.

2. Frank Bowman:

   Trump has already admitted the essentials – he called a foreign leader and asked him to use the legal engines of a foreign government to produce dirt on Trump's American political rival.

3. Joe Biden:

   Joe Biden said. Joe Biden spoke only for about 10 minutes but took a jab at rival Sen. Senator Sanders, who has staked Joe Biden campaign on the ability to bring more Americans -- particularly young people -- out in droves to the polls. Senator Sanders likes to say hell need a record turnout to defeat Donald Trump. Hes right, but were the campaign thats going to do that record turnout.

4. Michael Kugelman:

   This ISIS-Taliban joint attack represents a nightmare scenario come true. The Taliban and ISIS are widely understood to be foes, not friends, because of the Taliban’s close alliance with Al Qaeda — a bitter rival of ISIS. And yet Islamist terror groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region are all cut from the same basic ideological cloth.

5. State Department aide David Holmes:

   I was surprised the requirement was so specific and concrete, while we had advised our Ukrainian counterparts to voice a commitment to following the rule of law and generally to investigating credible corruption allegations, this was a demand that Volodymyr Zelensky personally commit to a specific investigation of President Trump's political rival on a cable news channel.

Popularity rank by frequency of use