rival

Noun

• the contestant you hope to defeat
  • he had respect for his rivals
    
  • he wanted to know what the competition was doing
    

Verb

• be the rival of, be in competition with
  • we are rivaling for first place in the race
    

• 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
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  challenger , competitor , competition , contender , equal , touch , match