noun
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Derived Forms
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Nouns
Etymology
Origin of contestant
From French, dating back to 1655–65; see origin at contest, -ant
Explanation
A contestant is someone who competes in a game or contest. Contestants in many beauty competitions need to demonstrate a talent, like singing or dancing, as well as look pretty. If you're a contestant on a TV game show, you might have to answer trivia questions, and if you're a debate contestant, you need to argue your case clearly. You can also be a contestant in a sporting competition or on a reality show. Contestant comes from the verb contest, from the French contester, "oppose," which has a Latin root, contestari, "to bring action."
Vocabulary lists containing contestant
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Out of My Mind
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Alex Trebek (1940–2020) Tribute List
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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:
Magyar asks a contestant competing in “Deal or No Deal” after receiving the banker’s offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
In this week’s Screen Gab, ‘DWTS’ contestant Guillermo Rodriguez tells us how much his legs hurt — plus we have streaming recommendations for your weekend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
"Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn't shown much aggression toward his competitors," his contestant profile says.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Paul, who was a contestant on the second series of the popular BBC series, said he reported the burglary to Cheshire Police, with the force describing it as a "one-off hit".
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
We and our pathogens are now locked in an escalating evolutionary contest, with the death of one contestant the price of defeat, and with natural selection playing the role of umpire.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
It’s not about the money for most contestants anyway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Big Brother contestants live together for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with almost everything they do captured on camera.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
At the Fonda, Adéla recounted moving here from her native Slovakia and working alongside the show’s other contestants to “try to become pop stars together,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Dancing With the Stars” contestants Guillermo Rodriguez and Jackson Olson have confirmed there is no bad blood between them after the latter apologized for a comment he made on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
They had to listen to as many as a hundred contestants a day over a three-day period, so they didn’t waste time.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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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.
