vie
VY
/vaɪ/
To compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something.
Typically used to describe multiple parties striving simultaneously for a single, highly desirable prize or position.
The story behind the word. Vie evolved from the Old French 'envier', which meant 'to challenge or invite to a game'. This came from the Latin 'invitare'. Over time, the 'challenge' aspect took over, and the word shortened to 'vie', representing the active struggle of accepting a challenge.
Word relationships
- compete: Compete is the general term, whereas vie has a more poetic, intense, and active tone.
- strive: Strive means to make great efforts, but does not necessarily require an opponent, whereas vie always implies competition.
- concede: To concede is to yield or surrender without continuing to struggle.
- cooperate: To cooperate is to work together rather than competing for the same prize.
Commonly confused with
- evade: Vie means to actively jump into a competition, while evade means to escape or avoid a situation.
Word family
- vying (adjective): Competing or contending for something.
Collocations
- vie for
- vie with
- constantly vie
- eagerly vie
Example sentences
- "Several international consortia vie for the lucrative contract to build the new high-speed rail network." Business bidding
Memory hook
Vie sounds like the letter 'Y'. Imagine asking 'Why compete so hard?' because everyone is trying to VIE for the prize. Vying for the victory.
When not to use
Do not use for physical fighting or violent combat; it is strictly for competitive striving.
Fun facts
- Despite its brevity, 'vie' is a powerful verb in journalism, frequently used in headlines to save space while conveying intense competition.
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