# rival

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹaɪvəl/ · frequency rank #5,355

## Definitions
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.
2. Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.
3. One having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”).

## Easily confused with
- **river** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-river)
- **royal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-royal)
- **rural** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-rural)
- **riven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-riven)
- **rivet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-rivet)
- **Rizal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-rizal)
- **rivalry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-rivalry)
- **ria** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ria-vs-rival)
- **real** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/real-vs-rival)
- **Rita** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rita-vs-rival)
- **Riga** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/riga-vs-rival)
- **Rina** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rina-vs-rival)
- **Riva** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/riva-vs-rival)
- **renal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/renal-vs-rival)
- **regal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/regal-vs-rival)
- **revel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/revel-vs-rival)
- **ravel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ravel-vs-rival)
- **reveal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reveal-vs-rival)
- **ritual** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ritual-vs-rival)
- **revival** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/revival-vs-rival)

## Common misspellings (7)
`irval`, `riavl`, `rivall`, `rivla`, `rivval`, `rrival`, `rvial`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rival