I. con ‧ test 1 W3 /ˈkɒntest $ ˈkɑːn-/ BrE AmE 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
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ 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Two candidates had withdrawn from the contest.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.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + contest
▪ 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.
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THESAURUS
▪ 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
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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
II. con ‧ test 2 /kənˈtest/ BrE AmE 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.