Potential roles of volatile organic compounds in plant competition

•Here are the revised Highlights, with the adequate number of characters.•Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mediate plant-biotic interactions; yet, the role of VOCs in competition remains largely unexplored.•We review potential roles of VOCs in plant competition.•Possible roles include modifying interactions with other trophic levels, neighbour detection, chemical camouflage, and VOC-mediated allelopathy.•We identify challenges to the study of VOCs in plant competition and highlight aspects of interest for future research.