rival
/ˈɹaɪvəl/noun, adjective, verb
rival is spelled R-I-V-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, rival means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of rival is rivals.
How many letters and syllables are in rival?
| Letters | 5: R-I-V-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rival?
Rival appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th 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 rival?
- /ˈɹaɪvəl/
Rival has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rival.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rival?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rival.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: viral.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rival
- rivals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- rivaling US, participle, present
- rivalling UK, participle, present
- rivaled US, participle, past
- rivalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rival mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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.
Chris is my biggest rival in the 400-metre race.
- 2
Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.
As a social historian, he has no rival.
- 3
obsoleteOne having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.
adjective
- 1
Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority.
rival lovers
verb
- 1
To oppose or compete with.
to rival somebody in love
- 2
To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another.
- 3
To strive to equal or excel; to emulate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rival in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rival, rivale , rivaliser |
| German | Gegner, Rivale, Konkurrent, Gegnerin, Rivalin, Konkurrentin |
| Portuguese | rival, adversário, competidor |
| Spanish | rival |
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 rival come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”). By surface analysis, Latin rīvus + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).