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9 dictionary results for: contest
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
con·test 
[n. kon-test; v. kuhn-test] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[n. kon-test; v. kuhn-test] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
| 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. |
| 4. | to struggle or fight for, as in battle. |
| 5. | to argue against; dispute: to contest a controversial question; to contest a will. |
| 6. | to call in question: They contested his right to speak. |
| 7. | to contend for in rivalry. |
| 8. | to dispute; contend; compete. |
[Origin: 1595–1605; (v.) < L contestāri to call to witness (in a lawsuit), equiv. to con- con- + testārī to testify, deriv. of testis witness; (n.) deriv. of the v., or < F conteste]
] —Related forms
con·test·a·ble, adjective
con·test·a·ble·ness, noun
con·test·a·bly, adverb
con·test·er, noun
con·test·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| con·test
(kŏn'těst') Pronunciation Key
n.
v. (kən-těst', kŏn'těst') con·test·ed, con·test·ing, con·tests v. tr.
v. intr. To struggle or compete; contend: contested with other bidders for the antique. [Probably from French conteste, from contester, to dispute, from Old French, to call to witness, from Latin contestārī : com-, com- + testis, witness; see trei- in Indo-European roots.] con·test'a·ble adj., con'tes·ta'tion (kŏn'tě-stā'shən) n., con·test'er n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
contest (v.)
contest (v.)
1603, from Fr. contester "dispute, oppose," from M.Fr., from L. contestari (litem) "to call to witness, bring action," from com- "together" + testari "to bear witness," from testis "a witness," (see testament). Calling witnesses as the first step in a legal combat. The noun is 1643, from the verb. Contestant "one who contests" is from 1861, popularized in U.S. Civil War.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| contest | |
noun | |
| 1. | an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants |
| 2. | a struggle between rivals |
verb | |
| 1. | to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: 1con·test
Pronunciation: k&n-'test
Function: transitive verb
: to dispute or challenge through legal procedures <contest a will>
Main Entry: 1con·test
Pronunciation: k&n-'test
Function: transitive verb
: to dispute or challenge through legal procedures <contest a will>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: 2con·test
Pronunciation: 'kän-"test
Function: noun
: a challenge brought through formal or legal procedurescontests between states —Felix Frankfurter>; specifically : WILL CONTEST —see also NO CONTEST CLAUSE
Main Entry: 2con·test
Pronunciation: 'kän-"test
Function: noun
: a challenge brought through formal or legal procedures
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Contest
Con*test"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Contested; p. pr. & vb. n. Contesting.] [F. contester, fr. L. contestari to call to witness, contestari litem to introduce a lawsuit by calling witnesses, to bring an action; con- + testari to be a witness, testic witness. See Testify.]1. To make a subject of dispute, contention, litigation, or emulation; to contend for; to call in question; to controvert; to oppose; to dispute. The people . . . contested not what was done. --Locke. Few philosophical aphorisms have been more frequenty repeated, few more contested than this. --J. D. Morell. 2. To strive earnestly to hold or maintain; to struggle to defend; as, the troops contested every inch of ground. 3. (Law) To make a subject of litigation; to defend, as a suit; to dispute or resist; as a claim, by course of law; to controvert. To contest an election. (Polit.) (a) To strive to be elected. (b) To dispute the declared result of an election. Syn: To dispute; controvert; debate; litigate; oppose; argue; contend.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Contest
Con*test"\, v. i. To engage in contention, or emulation; to contend; to strive; to vie; to emulate; -- followed usually by with. The difficulty of an argument adds to the pleasure of contesting with it, when there are hopes of victory. --Bp. Burnet. Of man, who dares in pomp with Jove contest? --Pope.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Contest
Con"test\, n. 1. Earnest dispute; strife in argument; controversy; debate; altercation. Leave all noisy contests, all immodest clamors and brawling language. --I. Watts. 2. Earnest struggle for superiority, victory, defense, etc.; competition; emulation; strife in arms; conflict; combat; encounter. The late battle had, in effect, been a contest between one usurper and another. --Hallam. It was fully expected that the contest there would be long and fierce. --Macaulay. Syn: Conflict; combat; battle; encounter; shock; struggle; dispute; altercation; debate; controvesy; difference; disagreement; strife. Usage: Contest, Conflict, Combat, Encounter. Contest is the broadest term, and had originally no reference to actual fighting. It was, on the contrary, a legal term signifying to call witnesses, and hence came to denote first a struggle in argument, and then a struggle for some common object between opposing parties, usually one of considerable duration, and implying successive stages or acts. Conflict denotes literally a close personal engagement, in which sense it is applied to actual fighting. It is, however, more commonly used in a figurative sense to denote strenuous or direct opposition; as, a mental conflict; conflicting interests or passions; a conflict of laws. An encounter is a direct meeting face to face. Usually it is a hostile meeting, and is then very nearly coincident with conflict; as, an encounter of opposing hosts. Sometimes it is used in a looser sense; as, "this keen encounter of our wits." --Shak. Combat is commonly applied to actual fighting, but may be used figuratively in reference to a strife or words or a struggle of feeling.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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