compete、contend、contest与rival这些动词均可表示“竞争”之意。
compete : 普通用词，含义广泛。既可指体育活动等活动中争取优胜的相互竞争，也可指为了自己的利益与他人竞争。
- It's difficult for a small shop to compete against/with the big supermarkets.
小超市很难同大超市竞争。 - Both girls compete for their father's attention.
两个女孩在父亲面前争宠。 - Turn the music down - I'm not competing against/with that noise (= I can't/won't try to speak louder than that music)!
把音乐声调小点儿——我可不想跟那噪声较劲！
contend : 指为战胜或击败对手进行不懈努力，强调拼搏。也可指口头上进行有对立情绪或严重分歧的争论。
- There are three world-class tennis players contending for this title.
有3位世界顶级网球选手争夺这项冠军。 - He's contending against someone with twice his experience.
他在和经验比他丰富一倍的人竞争。
contest : 指为争夺土地、阵地、权力或荣誉等而展开的竞争。
- The contest for the leadership of the party was very bitter.
该党领袖职务的竞选争夺非常激烈。 - The primary in Iowa is the first contest for the Republican nomination.
爱荷华州的初选是争夺共和党提名候选人的第一站。
rival : 指在两方或多方的竞争或比赛中，谁都想战胜或比得上对手。
- No computer can rival a human brain for/in complexity.
没有任何计算机比得上人脑复杂。 - The beauty of the country is only rivalled by (= is as great in degree as) the violence of its politics.
该国的美丽风光非同寻常，而其国内政治的残暴同样惊世骇俗。
