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Inflections of 'rival ' (v ): (⇒ conjugate )When both "l" and "ll" forms exist, spellings with a double "l" are correct, but rare, in US English, while those with a single "l" are not correct in UK English. rivals v 3rd person singular rivalling v pres p (Mainly UK) rivaling v pres p (US) rivalled v past (Mainly UK) rivaled v past (US) rivalled v past p (Mainly UK) rivaled v past p (US)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025 ri•val /ˈraɪvəl/USA pronunciation
n., adj., v., -valed, -val•ing or (esp. Brit. ) -valled, -val•ling. n. [ countable ]
one who seeks to achieve the same object or goal as another; a competitor:They were rivals for the job but they were still friends.
a person or thing that is almost equal to another:This car has no rival in its class.
adj. [ before a noun]
competing or standing in rivalry:rival businesses.
v. [ ~ + object]
to prove to be a worthy rival of:rivaled the others in skill.
to equal (something); to match; be as good as:The speed of this computer rivals that of much more expensive brands.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 ri•val
(rī′ vəl),USA pronunciation n., adj., v., -valed, -val•ing or (esp. Brit. ) -valled, -val•ling. n.
a person who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to equal or outdo another; competitor.
a person or thing that is in a position to dispute another's preeminence or superiority:a stadium without a rival.
[ Obs.] a companion in duty.
adj.
competing or standing in rivalry:rival suitors; rival businesses.
v.t.
to compete with in rivalry: strive to win from, equal, or outdo.
to prove to be a worthy rival of:He soon rivaled the others in skill.
to equal (something) as if in carrying on a rivalry:The Hudson rivals any European river in beauty.
v.i.
to engage in rivalry; compete.
Latin rīvālis origin, originally, one who uses a stream in common with another, equivalent. to rīv (us ) stream + -ālis -al 1 1570–80
ri′ val•less , adj.
1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged contestant, emulator, antagonist. See opponent. 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged competitive, opposed. 5.See corresponding entry in Unabridged oppose. 7.See corresponding entry in Unabridged match, emulate.
1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged ally.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
rival / ˈraɪvə l / a person, organization, team, etc, that competes with another for the same object or in the same field (as modifier ) : rival suitors , a rival company a person or thing that is considered the equal of another or others : she is without rival in the field of economics ( -vals , -valling , -valled ) ( -vals , -valing , -valed )(transitive ) to be the equal or near equal of : an empire that rivalled Rome to try to equal or surpass; compete with in rivalry Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin rīvalis , literally: one who shares the same brook, from rīvus a brook
'rival ' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):