contest

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations noun: /ˈkɒntɛst/, verb: /kənˈtɛst/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/n. ˈkɑntɛst; v. kənˈtɛst/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(n. kon′test; v. kən test′)



WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•test /n. ˈkɑntɛst; v. kənˈtɛst/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
    • a competition between rivals:She won the beauty contest.
    • a struggle for victory:a bitter contest of wills.

v. [~ + object]
  1. to struggle or fight for, as in battle, etc.:They were contesting the 10th district Congressional seat.
  2. to argue against;
    dispute:to contest a will.
  3. to object to;
    challenge:They contested his right to speak.
con•test•a•ble, adj. 
con•test•a•ble•ness, n. [uncountable]
con•test•a•bly, adv. 
con•test•er, n. [countable]See -test-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•test  (n. kon′test;v. kən test′),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a race, conflict, or other competition between rivals, as for a prize.
  2. struggle for victory or superiority.
  3. strife in argument;
    dispute;
    controversy:Their marriage was marred by perpetual contest.

v.t. 
  1. to struggle or fight for, as in battle.
  2. to argue against;
    dispute:to contest a controversial question; to contest a will.
  3. to call in question:They contested his right to speak.
  4. to contend for in rivalry.

v.i. 
  1. to dispute;
    contend;
    compete.
  • French conteste
  • Latin contestāri to call to witness (in a lawsuit), equivalent. to con- con- + testārī to testify, derivative of testis witness; (noun, nominal) derivative of the verb, verbal, or
  • (verb, verbal) 1595–1605
con•test′a•ble, adj. 
con•test′a•ble•ness, n. 
con•test′a•bly, adv. 
con•test′er, n. 
con•test′ing•ly, adv. 
    1. contention, rivalry, match, tournament, tourney, game. 2. battle, encounter. See fight. 3. debate, polemic, altercation. 4. See compete. 5. controvert, oppose. 6. challenge. 7. strive, compete, vie.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
contest n /ˈkɒntɛst/
  1. a formal game or match in which two or more people, teams, etc, compete and attempt to win
  2. a struggle for victory between opposing forces or interests
 vb /kənˈtɛst/
  1. (transitive) to try to disprove; call in question
  2. when intr, followed by with or against: to fight, dispute, or contend (with): contest an election
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin contestārī to introduce a lawsuit, from testis witnessconˈtestable adj conˈtester n
'contest' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
action replay - adventure racing - agon - agony - antagonize - antagonist - Arachne - arm wrestling - athlete - battle royal - beat - beauty queen - biathlon - bout - bronze medal - bye - capture - carry - catchweight - cattle market - challenge - clash - close - come off - compete - competition - contestant - cup - dark horse - dead heat - deadlock - decathlon - decide - default - defeat - dispute - disqualify - draw - drop - drub - duel - easily - eliminate - encounter - end - end-to-end - entry - event - fight - acquiesce
Collocations: a [beauty, cooking, swimming, talent, singing, math] contest, is an [even, uneven, unfair] contest, the contest is [organized, promoted, sponsored] by, more...

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