Noun

• S: (n) rival, challenger, competitor, competition, contender (the contestant you hope to defeat) "he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"

Verb

• S: (v) equal, touch, rival, match (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"
• S: (v) rival (be the rival of, be in competition with) "we are rivaling for first place in the race"