The phrase "a mere competition" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to downplay the significance or seriousness of a competition, suggesting that it is not important or noteworthy.
Example: "To him, the tournament was just a mere competition, lacking the excitement and stakes of previous events."
Alternatives: "just a contest" or "simply a rivalry".
Therefore, allocation of C precursors to reserves in N-starved C. reinhardtii seems to involve more subtle relationships than a mere competition between oil and starch syntheses.
Like wild-type Pin1, Pin1S67E interacts with N1-ICD (supplementary Fig S6C), therefore these data clearly indicate that it is the isomerase activity of Pin1 that is crucial to oppose N1-ICD-Fbxw7α interaction, ruling out the possibility of a mere competition between the two enzymes for binding to the phosphorylated sites within the cdc4-phosphodegron.
Barca's motto, "més que un club" — "more than a club" — indicates that its ambition transcends mere competition.
The latest scandal in British baking is far more serious than a mere television competition.
The singer's victory constitutes much more than a mere musical competition, but indicates inexorable global maturation.
Still, it is more than mere competition that has Lockheed and the Pentagon worried.
In this way, the public sector is replaced by private companies, and democracy is supplanted by mere competition.
Yet, Symmonds can claim success in forcing athletes to look beyond mere competition, said Adam Nelson of the United States, the 2004 Olympic shot-put champion and president of the Track and Field Athletes Association, an advocacy group.
We aren't interested in mere competition; the thrill of participation is not satisfying enough.
Special Olympics transcends mere competition; in that wave, and in countless other incidents, there is something greater: joy.
The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, is currently made up of four parties: the pro-Kremlin behemoth United Russia, and three smaller opposition parties which provide a mere semblance of competition.
