I.
noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ close , equal ( BrE ), even , tight
▪ closely fought ( esp. BrE ), hard-fought
▪ one-sided , unequal ( BrE )
▪
The ~ was too one-sided to be exciting.
▪ open
▪
This ~ 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 ~.
▪ exciting , good , great , real , thrilling
▪ bitter
▪ head-to-head
▪
The contestants are eliminated one by one until the last two compete in a head-to-head ~.
▪ global , international , local , national , regional
▪ election , electoral , gubernatorial ( AmE ), leadership ( esp. BrE ), political , presidential , primary
▪ beauty , popularity , song , talent
▪ athletic ( esp. AmE ), sporting ( esp. BrE ), sports ( esp. AmE )
VERB + CONTEST
▪ have , hold , run
▪
We have three major beauty ~s a year.
▪
Talent ~s are held in the club.
▪ sponsor ( AmE )
▪ compete in , enter , take part in
▪
A third candidate has entered the ~ for the Republican nomination.
▪ lose , win
CONTEST + VERB
▪ take place
PREPOSITION
▪ during a/the ~
▪
During the election ~ newspapers are not allowed to publish public opinion polls.
▪ in a/the ~
▪
Both sides are predicting victory in this close ~.
▪ out of a/the ~
▪
Jackson has injured his knee and is now out of the ~.
▪ ~ against
▪
He won his opening ~ against Costa of Argentina.
▪ ~ between
▪
the ~ between these two great boxers
▪ ~ for
▪
the ~ for the leadership of the party
▪ ~ over
▪
In the animal kingdom intruders usually lose ~s over territories.
▪ ~ with
▪
The New Zealanders are looking forward to future ~s with South Africa.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of skills ( esp. AmE ), a ~ of strength
▪ be no ~ (= used when one side in a contest is much stronger than the other and is sure to win)
▪ the winner of a ~
II.
verb
1 in a competition
ADVERB
▪ bitterly , fiercely , hotly , keenly ( esp. BrE )
▪
The election was bitterly ~ed.
▪ closely , tightly
▪ successfully
2 oppose
ADVERB
▪ fiercely , hotly , strongly , vigorously
▪
His views on evolution are strongly ~ed by other scientists.
▪ successfully
▪
Defence lawyers successfully ~ed the case.
Contest is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ party
Contest is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ allegation , ↑ divorce , ↑ election , ↑ final , ↑ seat , ↑ will