spirit
She approaches all sports with an intensely competitive spirit.
Melissa says her competitive spirit has helped her in her career as a chef.
Ameche's competitive spirit and hunger for learning helped him to rise to the top in everything he did.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Competing and contending (non-sporting)
as a dare
be one up on someoneidiom
cat
catchup
challenge someone to something/do something
dare
give someone/something a run for their moneyidiom
go in for something
go toe to toeidiom
hyper-competitive
in competition with someone/something
jungle
pit
sharp elbowsidiom
sharp-elbowed
sharpen (something) up
sharpen your elbowsidiom
showing
snap
toe

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Strong-willed