contend
Americanverb (used without object)
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contends,
present (3rd person singular)
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contended,
past participle, past
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contending
present participle
verb (used with object)
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contends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
contended,
past participle, past
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contending
present participle
verb
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to struggle in rivalry, battle, etc; vie
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to argue earnestly; debate
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to assert or maintain
Synonym Usage
See compete.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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contendernoun
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precontendverb (used without object)
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recontendverb (used without object)
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noncontendingadjective
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uncontendedadjective
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uncontendingadjective
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contendinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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contendsimple
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contendssimple
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have contendedperfect
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has contendedperfect
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am contendingprogressive
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are contendingprogressive
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is contendingprogressive
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have been contendingperfect progressive
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has been contendingperfect progressive
Past
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contendedsimple
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had contendedperfect
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was contendingprogressive
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were contendingprogressive
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had been contendingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see con-, tend 1
Explanation
To defend a belief or keep affirming that it's true is to contend. People used to contend that the earth was flat, but eventually, when no one dropped off the edge no matter how far they traveled, the "round" theory won. One of the meanings of contend is from the French "to strive with," and it is a literal fighting, as in "to contend with fists." Most contemporary uses of the verb contend illustrate competitions of proof or defense, where a person will contend that something is true, or better, or wrong. It is still a striving but more of a verbal kind, where what you contend is what you hope to convince others is correct.
Vocabulary lists containing contend
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 5
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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:
And most people contend that plagiarism, cheating and ghostwriting are all cut from the same cloth because they all lack the spark that we ascribe to truly original thinking and writing.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The 1994 case about the internment of Japanese American citizens is still relevant today as the Supreme Court has failed to fully contend with its legacy.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Ellen White: Unlike last season, Carrick has got Champions League football to contend with.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
An increase in rates could pressure consumers by raising borrowing costs or cast a chill on the tech industry’s debt-powered AI investment cycle, which is already struggling to contend with high borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The only things they had to contend with were downed trees and flying debris.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
The investments are already paying off, Levanon contends.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Reported talk of sailors debating whether to jump off the ship is overblown, he contends, recalling jokes that were made during his time on an aircraft carrier.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He contends that no one has yet come up with “a single case of a demonstrably innocent person executed in America in the modern era.”
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
At the same time, she contends that her administration has made major strides, keeping about 80% of the locations visited by Inside Safe free of tents in recent weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
The book also contends that Boyle developed a novel technique for winning support by turning readers into virtual witnesses: virtual witnessing is important, but Boyle was hardly a pioneer in this respect either.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
He also contended it is too late for judges to intervene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Months after that, the Phoenix’s media critic Dan Kennedy contended that it is our obligation to watch such difficult accounts in an essay for Harvard’s Nieman Foundation.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The only way he might have contended for first, he said, was “if Pogacar doesn’t start the race.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Bessent and Warsh are working as a team,” Yardeni contended in a new research note posted to his site, Yardeni Quick Takes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Edmund’s father seized the king’s treasury, and the lords contended for control.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Military on the Lincoln are reportedly contending with food shortages, broken plumbing and exhaustion, according to two US publications that cover the military - the Military Times and Stars & Stripes.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Officials will be contending with a challenging picture.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Stronger inflows in its private-equity and other businesses helped offset a slowdown in its private-credit unit, which has been contending with a pullback in interest among individual investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
After the eight-day-long fire in a 500,000-square-foot Boyle Heights warehouse, eastern Los Angeles residents are contending with putrid smells, soot and potentially hazardous airborne chemicals after heavy plumes of smoke spread throughout the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Now she, who had been impatient once, and violent, who had cursed and shouted and contended like a man, moved into silence, contending only, and with the last measure of her strength, with God.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
