beauty contest


noun
  1. a competition in which the entrants, usually women, are judged as to physical beauty and sometimes personality and talent, with the winners awarded prizes or titles.

  2. Informal. any contest, election, etc., that is decided on the basis of popularity.

Origin of beauty contest

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use beauty contest in a sentence

  • The others began chorusing their congratulations at once, looking no more convincing than the runners-up in any beauty contest.

    Pagan Passions | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • How she wished that she had never allowed herself to be dragged into that foolish beauty contest.

  • She never will forgive that moon-eyed Miss Dean for putting it over her at the beauty contest.

  • Well, if this is a beauty contest, I hope the judges wont be partial.

  • The beauty contest was an awful damper to them, especially Miss Weyman.

British Dictionary definitions for beauty contest

beauty contest

noun
  1. a competition in which the participants, usually women, are judged on their attractiveness, with a prize, and often a title, awarded to the winner

  2. informal any contest decided on the basis of superficial attractiveness, popularity, etc: the referendum might turn into a party political beauty contest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012