strive

verb3

1. •
   To try to achieve a result; to make strenuous effort; to try earnestly and persistently.

   • He strove to excel.
   • We strive for the truth.
2. •
   To struggle in opposition; to be in contention or dispute; to contend; to contest.

   • Now private pity strove with public hate, / Reason with rage, and eloquence with fate. — 1668
3. •
   To vie; to compete as a rival.

   • [Not] that sweet grove Of Daphne, by Orontes and the inspired Castalian spring, might with this paradise Of Eden strive. — 1667