Definition
A female competitor or woman who competes in a contest or rivalry with others.
Etymology
From Latin competere (to strive together) + -tress (feminine agent suffix). The -tress ending, borrowed from Old French, became common in English to denote female agents of action, though it's largely fallen out of use in modern English.
Kelly Says
This word perfectly captures a specific moment in English history—the late 1800s and early 1900s—when people felt compelled to create explicitly gendered versions of professions and roles. You rarely hear 'competitress' today because we've moved toward using 'competitor' for everyone, which shows how language evolves to reflect changing social attitudes.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
ሴት ተጫዋች
set te-ch'a-wach
ARالعربية
مرأة تنافسية
mar'ah tanāfisīyah
BNবাংলা
প্রতিযোগী মহিলা
pro-ti-yo-go-ee ma-hila
CACatalà
competidora
kom-pe-ti-do-ra
CSČeština
ženská konkurentka
zhen-ska kon-ku-rent-ka
DADansk
kvindes konkurrent
kvin-des konk-ur-rent
DEDeutsch
Wettbewerberin
vɛɐ̯t͡sbɛʁbəˈriːn
ELΕλληνικά
γυναίκα-συγκοινωνός
yi-na-i-ka-si-ko-in-o-nos
ESEspañol
competidora
kom-pe-ti-do-ra
FAفارسی
زن رقابتی
zan raqabati
FISuomi
nainen kilpailija
nai-nen kil-pai-li-ja
FRFrançais
femme compétitrice
fem- kom-pe-ti-tris
GUGU
સપેક્ષતા
sa-pek-shta
HEעברית
מתחרות
me-ta-cha-rot
HIहिन्दी
प्रतिस्पर्धी महिला
pratishparadhee mahila
HUMagyar
nő versenyző
no ver-se-ny-zo
IDBahasa Indonesia
perempuan kompetitif
per-empuan kom-pe-ti-tif
IGIG
nwanyi ncheta
n-wa-nyi n-che-ta
ITItaliano
competitrice
kom-pe-ti-t-ri-ce
KMKM
ស្ត្រី កម្មសិល្បៈ
s-trei kam-masil-ba-rak
MRMR
प्रतिस्पर्धी महिला
pratishparadhee mahila
MSBahasa Melayu
lawan wanita
la-wan ni-nat
NLNederlands
vrouwelijke concurrent
vroo-we-li-ke kon-kurent
NONorsk
kvinnelig konkurrent
kvin-ne-lig konk-ur-rent
PLPolski
kobieta-konkurentka
ko-bie-ta-kon-ku-rent-ka
PTPortuguês
competidora
kom-pe-ti-do-ra
RORomână
competitoare
kom-pe-ti-to-ra
RUРусский
женщина-конкурент
zhen-shchyna-konkurent
SVSvenska
kvinnlig konkurrent
kvin-nig konk-ur-rent
SWKiswahili
mwanamke anayeushindana
mwa-na-mke a-na-ye-u-shin-da-na
TAதமிழ்
போட்டியாளர் பெண்
po-tti-ya-la-r pe-n
TEతెలుగు
పోటీదారురాలు
po-tee-da-ru-ra-lu
THไทย
ผู้หญิงที่แข่งขัน
phoo-ying-tee-khang-khan
TLTL
kababayan na babae
ka-ba-ba-yan na ba-ba-e
TRTürkçe
rekabetçi kadın
rekabetçi kadin
UKУкраїнська
жінка-конкурентка
zhinka-konkurentka
URاردو
منافسہ کرنے والی عورت
manafasah karne waali aurat
VITiếng Việt
nữ vận động viên cạnh tranh
nu van dong vien canh tranh
YOYO
omo alese
o-mo a-le-se
ZUZU
umfazi onkusebenza
um-fa-zi on-ku-se-ben-za
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
The -ress suffix denotes female agents. This word was constructed to feminize 'competitor,' but reflects an outdated assumption that competitive roles were male by default and required explicit gendering for women.
Inclusive Usage
Avoid entirely. Use 'competitor' (gender-neutral) for all people regardless of gender.
Inclusive Alternatives
["competitor","participant"]
Empowerment Note
Women competed as fiercely as men throughout history; the need to mark female competitors linguistically erased their normalcy in competition.