contender
Americannoun
-
contenders
plural
-
a person or group that competes against others to win something; contestant.
The three remaining contenders for the Democratic Party nomination met for a televised debate.
-
a person or group with a good chance of success in a contest.
After last season’s disaster, the Texas team needed to convince me they were a contender.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of contender
Explanation
Baseball players, boxers, politicians: each is a contender in that they compete or campaign to win something. Contender has a slightly different meaning than competitor, often implying a more vigorous, even scrappier, sense of taking on every unexpected challenge. The most famous use of contender is Marlon Brando's quote in the film On The Waterfront. Brando plays a once promising boxer whose career has been ruined by a fixed fight. "I coulda been a contender!" Brando cried, implying he could have been the boxer whom everyone wanted to defeat.
Vocabulary lists containing contender
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The Greatest: Muhammad Ali
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Ungifted
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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.
See Examples For:
In the latest informal straw poll held last week to gauge which candidates have a shot of becoming the next UN Secretary General, every contender received an effective veto.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Sunday night, he attended a screening event at Netflix headquarters for “La Bola Negra,” a movie considered to be an Oscars contender.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The stranger-than-fiction documentary has garnered rave reviews and is already being talked about as an Oscar contender as we head into awards season.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Wilder previously emerged as a contender for Usyk's farewell, but negotiations appear to have stalled.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
It's somewhat surprising that I'm a serious contender for the title of world heavyweight champion, not because I'm slow or weak but because I'm a relative newcomer to the sport.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
While the top two contenders hail from the same movie, a separate oddity might open the door for another supporting actress to earn two nods in the category.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
McDonagh has delivered responsibly budgeted movies that have so far been commercially successful and critically acclaimed awards contenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
To be contenders again, they need more than just talent.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
How do Israel's elections work and who are the main contenders?
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
The two remaining contenders were Ginger and Michael Froelich's dog, Arnold.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
