rival

nouns

the contestant you hope to defeat
"he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"
challenger, competition, competitor, contender, rival
is derived from
rivalrous

verbs

be equal to in quality or ability
"Nothing can rival cotton for durability"; "Your performance doesn't even touch that of your colleagues"; "Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents"
equal, match, rival, touch
be the rival of, be in competition with
"we are rivaling for first place in the race"
rival
is derived from
rivalry
is a type of (narrower)
compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
compete, contend, vie