◙ noun 1. a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity • 竞争对手，敌手 »he has no serious rival for the job. 对于这份工作他没有强劲的竞争对手。 »[asmodifier] gun battles between rival gangs. 敌对帮派间的枪战。 [with negative] a person or thing that equals another in quality • 可与…匹敌的人（或物)，可与之相比的人（或物） »she has no rivals as a female rock singer. 她作为摇滚乐女歌手，没人可以与她匹敌。 ◙ (rivalled, rivalling; 美 rivaled, rivaling) 1. [with obj.] compete for superiority with; be or seem to be equal or comparable to • 与…竞争；努力赶上（或超过）；与…匹敌，比得上 »the efficiency of the Bavarians rivals that of the Viennese. 巴伐利亚人的效率比得上维也纳人。
【语源】
1. late 16th cent.: from Latin rivalis, originally in the sense 'person using the same stream as another', from rivus 'stream'