Some of them were at first credible competitors to Bernadette and even seemed to have the power to heal.

"Not only are we a credible competitor," Mr. Ruiz said.

He spent six seasons in Edinburgh, helping transform a Hearts side that had flirted with relegation into a credible domestic competitor.

The idea of rotation and balance (and his seniority in physical age and experience) made him a credible competitor.

"A.M.D. is really a credible competitor now in the corporate data center," said Jonathan Eunice, principal analyst for Illuminata, a research firm.

My No. 1 objective is to establish the car as a credible competitor in the ultra luxury segement.

To be fair, intel haven't really had a credible competitor in terms of performance since the core2, and they've still pushed ahead.

Going back to Ballmer's original offer, the software giant wanted to create a credible competitor to Google.

The 1980s saw the growth of Monarch Airlines as a credible competitor.

"They become a much more credible competitor to Cisco together than either was separately," Mr. Stoneberg of Montgomery Securities said.