Collocations for "rival"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "rival" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2026
rival
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.n
- a [sports, professional, personal, business] rival
- a [strong, fierce, tough, former] rival
- the [nearest, closest, main] rival
- have been rivals for as long as I can remember
- is her [strongest] rival
- [beat, defeated] the rival
- [beaten] by his rival
- took on [any, every] rival (and won)
- rivals on the [field, court]
- rivals in [sports, the market]
- rivals for [power, control, oil]
- has no [real, serious] rival for the job
- is his only (real) rival
- [face, have] competition from rivals
- is a (serious) rival to the [product, company, method]
- [will, can, should] rival anything (that)
- her [fame, work, performance] rivalled that of
- nobody [can, will] rival her
- cannot be rivalled (by)
- is not rivalled by [anyone, anything]
- is rivalled by none
- rivals the best (in town)
'rival' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
arch
- closely
- competition
- contract
- crowd
- deck
- defeat
- dirt
- feud
- fighting
- floor
- gang
- grudge
- hold
- initiative
- knowledgeable
- lose
- march
- mat
- match
- measure
- mercy
- merger
- mock
- muck
- mud
- needle
- outweigh
- pair
- prevail
- provoke
- pulp
- quantity
- quarter
- restrict
- riot
- rope
- rumble
- runaway
- slander
- slight
- slouch
- snub
- stride
- swipe
- turf
- turn
- upset
- violence
- worthy