Vied

Vied is the past tense of the verb vie, meaning to compete eagerly with others for a particular goal or advantage. The term is used across many domains, including politics, sports, business, and culture, to describe efforts by individuals or groups to outdo one another or win a contest.

Usage notes include the common constructions vie with and vie for. To vie with someone means to contend against that person or group, while to vie for something means to compete to obtain it. For example, “two candidates vied for the presidency” or “several firms vied for the contract.” The word often appears in formal or neutral analytic writing but is widely understood in everyday language as well.

Grammatical forms: present tense is vie (third-person singular vies), past tense is vied, and the present participle is vying (also spelled vieing in some older texts). The pronunciation rhymes with “dye” for the verb base.

In usage, vied is typically used when competition is intense or strategic, sometimes implying struggle or effort to surpass rivals. It can pair with prepositions such as with, for, or against, depending on the meaning.

See also: compete, contend, rival, struggle, contest.