contest
Americannoun
-
contests
plural
-
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)
-
contests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
contested,
past participle, past
-
contesting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
contests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
contested,
past participle, past
-
contesting
present participle
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
-
contesternoun
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precontestnoun
-
subcontestnoun
-
supercontestnoun
-
recontestverb
-
precontestverb (used with object)
-
supercontestverb (used with object)
-
contestableadjective
-
uncontestableadjective
-
contestablyadverb
-
contestinglyadverb
-
uncontestablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
contestsimple
-
contestssimple
-
have contestedperfect
-
has contestedperfect
-
am contestingprogressive
-
are contestingprogressive
-
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:
He would lose a contest to Shaquille O’Neal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Here are our playing ratings from the three-day contest:
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Lore holds that the first docking contest arose from watermen debating their prowess.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
His passing accuracy was the best of any player too, while he was also ranked first out of all Premier League outfield players to contest more than 20 ground duels in the league last season.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Now we'll never find out their secret recipe for the contest," Bess wailed.
From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene
Thousands of spectators will line the route for the unprecedented race, which echoes Formula One contests staged on city streets in Las Vegas, Monaco and Singapore.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Held at the 1971 crab derby in Crisfield, Md., it drew less attention than sailboat races, greased pig contests and the crowning of Miss Crustacean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The 2019 win, inspired by Ben Stokes, was one of the most legendary contests in Ashes history, ranking alongside Ian Botham's heroics of 1981 on the same ground.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The kids who lose these contests aren’t chosen at random.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
When they fought with mace or blunted longaxe, Ser Rolly’s greater size and strength would quickly overwhelm his charge; with swords the contests were more even.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
It is unclear whether the Louisiana ruling covering Hendrick’s transfer will be contested.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
But in the 14th century the contested presence of the Papal States near the Rhône led to repeated skirmishes between the king of France and the Vatican.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Yabloko has not won Duma seats since 2003 but has contested every election since.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Public transportation was just one arena in which North Carolina blacks contested second-class status.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Randy Mastro, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, filed a letter on Tuesday contesting the automatic stay and maintaining that the court’s emergency pause is still in effect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
That history is why contesting the constitutional allocation of public safety cannot mean giving private people authority to govern vulnerable people.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain have all ruled out contesting the seat - leaving the prospect of Farage facing novelty candidates like Count Binface.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 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
We began a long and detailed argument contesting the indictment itself.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
