contest
[noun]
Synonyms:
- competition, game, match, tournament, trial
- struggle, battle, combat, conflict, controversy, dispute, fight
[verb]
Synonyms:
- dispute, argue, call in or into question, challenge, debate, doubt, object to, oppose, question
- compete, contend, fight, strive, vie

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Related Words: endeavor, brush, encounter, skirmish, action, battle, engagement, proving, testing, trial, trying

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English Thesaurus: competition, contest, championship, tournament, quiz, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. con‧test¹ W3 /ˈkɒntest $ ˈkɑːn-/ noun [countable]

1. a competition or a situation in which two or more people or groups are competing with each other
contest for
the bitter contest for the Republican presidential nomination
Stone decided to hold a contest to see who could write the best song.
I only entered the contest for fun.
It is clear that the election will be a close contest.
contest between/against
the 1960 contest between Kennedy and Nixon
the 1975 Liberal leadership contest

2. no contest informal
a) spoken used to say that someone or something is the best of its kind:
I think you’re the best rider here, no contest.
b) if a victory is no contest, it is very easy to achieve

3. plead no contest law to state that you will not offer a defence in a court of law for something wrong you have done

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. con‧test² /kənˈtest/ verb [transitive] formal
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: contester, from Latin contestari 'to call a witness, bring a legal case', from com- ( ⇒ COM-) + testis 'witness']

1. to say formally that you do not accept something or do not agree with it:
His brothers are contesting the will.

2. to compete for something or to try to win it:
His wife is contesting a seat on the council.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

contest
noun
ADJ. close, closely fought, equal, even | one-sided, unequal The contest was too one-sided to be exciting.
open This contest is wide open: any of half a dozen teams could win it.
fair The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest.
exciting, good, great, thrilling | bitter | head-to-head The contestants are eliminated one by one until the last two compete in a head-to-head contest.
global, international, local, national, regional | election/electoral, gubernatorial, leadership, political, presidential | beauty, song, sporting, talent
VERB + CONTEST have, hold, run We have three major beauty contests a year. Sporting contests are held in the arena.
compete in, enter, take part in A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.
win, lose
CONTEST + VERB take place
PREP. during a/the ~ During the election contest newspapers are not allowed to publish public opinion polls.
in a/the ~ Both sides are predicting victory in this close contest.
out of a/the ~ Jackson has injured his knee and is now out of the contest.
~ against They won the doubles contest against the Williams sisters.
~ between the contest between these two great boxers
~ for the contest for the leadership of the party
~ over In the animal kingdom intruders usually lose contests over territories.
~ with The New Zealanders are looking forward to future contests with South Africa.
PHRASES be no contest (= used when one side in a contest is much stronger than the other and is sure to win), the winner of a contest

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contest
verb
I. in a competition
ADV. bitterly, fiercely, hotly, keenly The election was bitterly contested.
successfully, unsuccessfully

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contest
II. oppose
ADV. fiercely, hotly, strongly, vigorously His views on evolution are strongly contested by other scientists.
successfully, unsuccessfully Defence lawyers successfully contested the case.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contest

enter a contest (=take part in one)
Anyone over 18 years old can enter the contest.
take part in a contest
Twenty-five countries took part in the contest.
compete in a contest
The band has competed in many contests over the years.
win/lose a contest
He won a public-speaking contest at his school.
withdraw from a contest (=stop taking part in a contest)
Two candidates had withdrawn from the contest.
have/hold a contest
My college holds an athletics contest once a year.
a contest takes place
The contest took place in Berlin.
a leadership contest (=in which two politicians compete to become leader of their party)
The party did not want the turmoil of a leadership contest.
a presidential contest
the 1987 U.S presidential contest
an electoral/election contest
What will be the outcome of the electoral contest?
a beauty contest (=to find the most beautiful person)
Miss Colombia won the beauty contest.
a talent contest (=to find the best performer)
She's singing a song in the school talent contest.
a popularity contest (=to decide which person people like the most)
The competition has turned into a popluarity contest.
close (=one which someone wins by a very small amount)
The race was a close contest between two evenly matched crews.
fair (=one in which everyone has the same chance of winning)
Divide the class into groups in a way that will make it a fair contest.
even/equal British English (=one in which everyone has the same chance of winning)
One of the men was much older so it was hardly an even contest.
uneven/unequal British English (=one in which one of the people, groups etc has a better chance of winning)
Given their military strength, the war was a pretty unequal contest.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

competition an organized event in which people or teams compete against each other, especially in order to win a prize:
My sister entered a dance competition.
The winner of the competition will be announced in June.
contest a competition in which people do an activity, and a group of judges decide the winner:
a beauty contest
a contest to find America’s strongest man
championship an important sports competition to find the best player or team in the world or in a particular area:
the European Athletics Championship
Brazil went on to win the world championship.
tournament a competition in a sport or game, in which many players or teams compete against each other until there is one winner:
a golf tournament
quiz a competition in which people have to answer questions:
a TV quiz show
round one of the parts of a competition that you have to finish or win before you can go on to the next part:
Henman lost in the second round of the competition.
heat one of several races or competitions whose winners then compete against each other:
She came second in her heat, with a time of 23.2 seconds.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲