1.   And indeed, the closest competitor a creature is ever likely to meet is a member of its own species.

2.   Verio currently operates nearly three times as many business Web sites as its closest competitor.

3.   But our economy is still over twice as large as our closest competitor.

4.   You are bristling with anticipation as you know the present contract which Plastic Foods has with Clearprint, your closest competitor, is up for renewal.

5.   Accord claims a more spacious interior than its two closest competitors, the Taurus or Camry.

6.   Bush, by rejecting the matching funds, could have three or four times as much money as his closest competitors, with the exception of Steve Forbes.

7.   But when Navy declined to go this year, it passed the honor of defending the US to Mass. Maritime, its closest competitor.

8.   Charles A. Boorady, an analyst at Prudential Securities, said Apria had been losing customers to its closest competitor, Lincare Holdings.

9.   During the next three weeks, CSUN plays its closest three competitors in the league.