Contest Definition
kŏntĕst
contested, contesting, contests
noun
contests
A fight, struggle, conflict, or controversy.
Webster's New World
A competition, especially one in which entrants perform separately and are rated by judges.
A spelling contest.
American Heritage
Any race, game, debate, etc. in which individuals or teams compete with one another to determine the winner.
Webster's New World
(countable) A competition.
The child entered the spelling contest.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
verb
contested, contesting, contests
To try to disprove or invalidate (something) as by argument or legal action; dispute.
To contest a will.
Webster's New World
To compete or strive for; struggle to gain or control.
Trade routes that were contested by competing cultures.
American Heritage
To fight for (ground, a military position, etc.); struggle to win or keep.
Webster's New World
To call into question and take an active stand against; dispute or challenge.
Contest a will.
American Heritage
To contend; struggle (with or against)
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
idiom
no contest
- nolo contendere
- a match or competition in which one side easily dominates
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Contest
Origin of Contest
-
Probably from French conteste from contester to dispute from Old French to call to witness from Latin contestārī com- com- testis witness trei- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
From French contester, from Old French, from Latin contestor (“to call to witness”)
From Wiktionary
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