contend
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to struggle in rivalry, battle, etc; vie
-
to argue earnestly; debate
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to assert or maintain
Related Words
See compete.
Other Word Forms
- contender noun
- contendingly adverb
- noncontending adjective
- precontend verb (used without object)
- recontend verb (used without object)
- uncontended adjective
- uncontending adjective
Etymology
Origin of contend
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English contenden, from Anglo-French contendre, from Latin contendere “to compete, strive, draw tight,” equivalent to con- prefix meaning “with, together” + tendere “to stretch”; con-, tend 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And there is also history to contend with.
From BBC
His lawyers contend they seek to correct a 160-year misunderstanding about the Constitution’s promise that “all persons born” in this country are deemed to be citizens.
From Los Angeles Times
In 2023, Donner filed a lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., court that contended his dismissal was linked to several instances in which he challenged the veracity of the network’s coverage.
From Los Angeles Times
Others address larger speculations she’s contended with throughout her life, primarily regarding her relationship with Michael, to whom she was very close as a child.
From Salon
That law incorporates the language of the 14th Amendment, but this view contends that lawmakers in 1952 understood “jurisdiction” in the now conventional sense of ordinary law.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
