- 1 a competition in which people try to win something a singing contest a talent contest to enter/win/lose a contest see also beauty contest, popularity contest Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclose, equal, even, … verb + contesthave, hold, run, … contest + verbtake place prepositionduring a/the contest, in a/the contest, out of a/the contest, … phrasesa contest of skills, a contest of strength, be no contest, … See full entry
- 2 contest (for something) a struggle to gain control or power a contest for the leadership of the party Wordfinderdemocracycandidate, constituency, contest, democracy, election, majority, manifesto, poll, referendum, swing vote Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclose, equal, even, … verb + contesthave, hold, run, … contest + verbtake place prepositionduring a/the contest, in a/the contest, out of a/the contest, … phrasesa contest of skills, a contest of strength, be no contest, … See full entry See related entries: Elections Word Originlate 16th cent. (as a verb in the sense ‘swear to, attest’): from Latin contestari ‘call upon to witness, initiate (by calling witnesses)’, from con- ‘together’ + testare ‘to witness’. The senses ‘wrangle, struggle for’ arose in the early 17th cent., which gave rise to the current noun and verb senses.Extra examples Both sides are predicting victory in this close contest. During the election contest newspapers are not allowed to publish public opinion polls. He won his opening contest against Costa of Argentina. In the animal kingdom intruders usually lose contests over territories. Jackson has injured his knee and is now out of the contest. Sporting contests are held in the arena. The New Zealanders are looking forward to future contests with South Africa. The contest was too one-sided to be exciting. The contestants are eliminated one by one until the last two compete in a head-to-head contest. The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. They won the doubles contest against the Williams sisters. This contest is wide open: any of half a dozen teams could win it. We have three major beauty contests a year. the contest between these two great boxers the contest for the leadership of the party He won an amateur talent contest at the age of 15. Her friends persuaded her to enter a beauty contest. It was a close contest between two evenly-matched crews. She’s the favourite for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. To enter the contest, simply send an email to this address… a beauty/talent contestIdioms
used to say that one side in a competition is so much stronger or better than the other that it is sure to win easily
Check pronunciation: contest
