contest
Americannoun
-
a race, conflict, or other competition between rivals, as for a prize.
- Synonyms:
- game, tourney, tournament, match, rivalry, contention
-
struggle for victory or superiority.
-
vigorous or bitter conflict in argument; dispute; controversy.
Their marriage was marred by perpetual contest.
- Synonyms:
- opposition, disagreement, difference, clash, altercation, antagonism, discord, strife
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a formal game or match in which two or more people, teams, etc, compete and attempt to win
-
a struggle for victory between opposing forces or interests
verb
-
(tr) to try to disprove; call in question
-
to fight, dispute, or contend (with)
contest an election
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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contestablenessnoun
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contestationnoun
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contesternoun
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precontestnoun
-
subcontestnoun
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supercontestnoun
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recontestverb
-
precontestverb (used with object)
-
supercontestverb (used with object)
-
contestableadjective
-
uncontestableadjective
-
contestablyadverb
-
contestinglyadverb
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uncontestablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
contestsimple
-
contestssimple
-
have contestedperfect
-
has contestedperfect
-
am contestingprogressive
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are contestingprogressive
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is contestingprogressive
-
have been contestingperfect progressive
-
has been contestingperfect progressive
Past
-
contestedsimple
-
had contestedperfect
-
was contestingprogressive
-
were contestingprogressive
-
had been contestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contest
First recorded in 1595–1605; (verb) from Latin contestāri “to call to witness (in a lawsuit),” equivalent to con- con- + testārī “to testify, ” derivative of testis witness; the noun is derivative of the verb, or is from French conteste
Explanation
A contest is a struggle to determine who's tops –- you might wrestle an alligator in a contest of brute strength versus strategy. You can also enter a contest — a yodeling contest or a cake-decorating contest, depending on your talents. If you're being sued and you respond to the court order saying "no contest," you're saying you're not going to put up a fight. When you put the accent on the second syllable, contest becomes a verb, and it means to dispute something. You lost the election for class president, but you think there was something fishy going on at the ballot box, so you contest the results and ask for a recount.
Vocabulary lists containing contest
Beowulf vocabulary
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Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address (1801)
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Orbiting Jupiter
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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:
Wales showed spirit to stay in the contest against Argentina and were hunting a pair of bonus points with the clock in the red.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
If you cannot, the Realest is offering this free-to-enter contest: Guess the sale price of the Ohtani cleats and, if you come closest to the actual sale price, you win 1% of the price.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Users said ADI Predictstreet mismanaged the contest, unexpectedly shifting the dates of snapshots and altering the rules, then failing to deliver tickets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
He has said he "intends to win" the election, setting the stage for what could be the defining contest of his political life.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
I feel like doing jumping jacks or a backflip or participating in an ice cream–eating contest.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The formal declaration of Fujimori's win brings one of Peru's tightest leadership contests of all time to a close and ushers in the Andean nation's ninth president in a decade.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Germans do it only during international sporting contests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Former Lakers players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and bribery in sporting contests by federal prosecutors in a sweeping indictment that included four other co-conspirators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The contests in Aberdeen South and the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry constituency were triggered following the election of local SNP MPs Stephen Flynn and Stephen Gethins to Holyrood last month.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Daenerys would have prohibited contests be-tween women as well, but Barsena Blackhair protested that she had as much right to risk her life as any man.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
You can slow cook a 20-pound turkey waiting for NBA replay to resolve a contested out-of-bounds play.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
At a time when the role of money in politics remains deeply contested, such patterns remind Americans that campaign finance is not just a story about donors and interest groups.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
And the decision to terminate a Fed official can be reviewed by a court—another aspect that was contested by the government.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
In fact, the destinies of the three drivers who ultimately contested victory were effectively decided as they intertwined at Turn Nine in the dying seconds of the final session on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
For five or six strokes, the bows of the two boats contested for the lead, back and forth like the heads of racehorses coming down the stretch.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Against that backdrop, he was powerless to prevent Andy Burnham contesting the by-election triggered in Makerfield in Greater Manchester to give him a chance to return to Westminster and take over as Labour leader.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Washington and Tehran have been contesting some of the deal’s finer points, including whether passage through the key waterway will be free from tolls.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
Without the VSC, Hamilton's three-stop strategy, compared with the two of Russell and Antonelli, would have had him catching the two Mercedes and contesting for the victory in the closing laps.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Pratt has yet to put out a statement conceding the race or contesting the results.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
This reshaping of events happens in a dozen ways every day, contesting reality.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
