Definition of contention
1 : an act or instance of contending He has taken himself out of contention for the directorship.
2 : a point advanced or maintained in a debate or argument It is his contention that allowing a casino to be built would not be in the best interests of the city.
3 : rivalry, competition
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Examples of contention in a Sentence
Tiger Woods splashed his way into contention in the New Zealand Open … shooting a four under par to close within six strokes of the lead. —New York Times, 13 Jan. 2002
The issues behind the protest are the usual bones of collective-bargaining contention: pay increases, vacation time, union membership. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 17 & 24 June 2002
Science, and academic scholarship in general, the contention these days goes, is too subjective. Some even allege it's entirely subjective, as is, they say, history. —Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996
All quotes from QDB.
That has been a source of contention for years.
He is in contention for the Olympic medal.
Recent Examples of contention from the Web
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The territory has been a bone of contention ever since (see article).
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And Britain is negotiating the terms of its exit with the EU—where the rights of British nationals living in the bloc and EU citizens living in Britain have become a major point of contention.
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After getting swept by the Dodgers over the weekend, the Marlins fell even further out of contention, slipping to 10 games behind the Rockies in the National League wild-card standings entering Monday’s games.
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Another alleged point of contention stems from Kushner’s enormous family wealth.
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The cycle perpetuates and the image of Alabama is enhanced for kids who have never seen the Tide out of contention.
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The sandwich is not without its controversy; the New England Today notes that the frozen lobster meat and McChicken bun are two points of contention for lobster roll purists.
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Instead, Syria and President Bashar al-Assad became major points of contention.
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The decision endorsed the Trump administration's contention that the president deserves greater deference from the courts on national security matters.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contention.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of contention
Middle English contencioun, from Anglo-French cuntenciun, from Latin contention-, contentio, from contendere
Synonym Discussion of contention
CONTENTION Defined for English Language Learners
contention
playDefinition of contention for English Language Learners
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: something (such as a belief, opinion, or idea) that is argued or stated
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: anger and disagreement
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: a situation in which you have a chance to win something that you are trying to win
CONTENTION Defined for Kids
contention
playDefinition of contention for Students
1 : something that is argued It's my contention that watching television is a waste of time.
2 : anger and disagreement
3 : a state or situation of having a chance to win She's in contention for the gold medal.
Learn More about contention
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See words that rhyme with contention Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for contention Spanish Central: Translation of contention Nglish: Translation of contention for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of contention for Arabic speakers
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