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
-
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:
Batters, catchers and pitchers can contest a ball or strike call by immediately tapping their cap or helmet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Gassiev is currently the WBA 'super' heavyweight world champion, but his status is unclear after reports claimed Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would be fighting for his world title in their contest on 11 December.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Seagate Technology fell more than 9%, following a report that it was facing the prospect of a bidding contest to acquire a component maker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
"I want to live on my own, so I think I'll use the money for the moving costs," said Suimii, the contest winner who only gave her nickname.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Another winter she was helping Lester revise his ‘What Indiana Means to Me’ essay for the county contest.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Broaden the search to state and local contests and there are 474 electoral rematches nationwide -- proving that in American politics, as in Hollywood, there is rarely any objection to a sequel.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
He’s been tracking political contests nationwide for more than 25 years and edits and publishes Inside Elections — formerly the Rothenberg Political Report — another nonpartisan field guide to campaigns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The professors have performed a public service, even if it is unlikely to win them any popularity contests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Since the creation of television, men have been historically underrepresented,” Mulaney said, explaining that the medium was all “beauty contests and children talking to hand puppets until the early ’60s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
If we referred to the athletic contests around us, it was with sarcasm.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
"In a world of infinite choice, audiences are fragmenting, trust is scarce and facts are contested," Brittin said.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
This 20th edition of the Games, which were first contested in 1951, did not have a traditional athletes' village in a bid to save money.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Plus, why tens of billions of dollars in contested tax bills hinge on two words, and AI CEOs challenged Dario Amodei over his industry warnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
A huge legal battle involving tens of billions of dollars in contested tax bills for major corporations centers on the interpretation of a two-word phrase, my colleague Richard Rubin reports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
He won every race he contested in the 1939 school season.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
The fiercest recent fighting has been on the western approaches, where the two sides are contesting high ground overlooking the city's route south.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
By contesting the decision, you might have supplanted positive memories with ill will and friction.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Earlier this year, the firm signed a 12-month agreement worth $1.2 million with Atiku Abubakar, who is contesting the Nigerian presidency.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
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
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.
