competitive
com·pet·i·tive/kəmˈpɛt.ə.tɪv/adjective
competitive is spelled C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E, 4 syllables: com·pet·i·tive. The wrong spelling people search most is competative: about 290 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Competitive is an adjective meaning “Of or pertaining to competition”.
How many letters and syllables are in competitive?
| Letters | 11: C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: com·pet·i·tive |
| In writing | 37 times per million words; the 2,618th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 3; the most searched, competative, about 290 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell competitive?
Competitive is spelled C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E. 3 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for competitive in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is competitive?
Competitive appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce competitive?
- UK /kəmˈpɛt.ɪ.tɪv/
- US /kəmˈpɛt.ə.tɪv/
- US [kəmˈpɛɾɪtɪv]
Competitive has 4 syllables, split com·pet·i·tive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-competitive.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-competitive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of competitive
- more competitive comparative
- most competitive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does competitive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to competition.
- 2
Inclined to compete.
- 3
Capable of competing successfully.
- 4
Relating to the inhibition of the effects of a chemical substance by another substance competing with it for binding or bonding.
competitive antagonist
- 5
Cheap, especially used of quality products.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate competitive?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of competitive: comp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Competitive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Wettbewerbs-, Konkurrenz-, Wettkampf-, sportlich, auf Wettbewerb beruhend, wettkampfmäßig |
| Portuguese | competitivo |
| French | compétitif |
| Spanish | competitivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does competitive come from?
From Latin competītus (past participle of competere) + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).