rival vs rough-and-tumble

rival

adj
  • Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority. 

verb
  • To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another. 

  • To oppose or compete with. 

  • To strive to equal or excel; to emulate. 

noun
  • A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor. 

  • Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another. 

rough-and-tumble

adj
  • highly competitive 

  • active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm 

noun
  • An environment of rough activity 

  • Rough activity; fighting or brawling; a fight. 

  • A person who characteristically engages in such activity 

verb
  • Engage in rough-and-tumble activity 

How often have the words rival and rough-and-tumble occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )