as in competitors
one who strives for the same thing as another
the third-party challenger in the presidential election
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Recent Examples of challengers
Trump’s push to oust Massie comes as his allies ramp up efforts to recruit challengers and spend heavily against the Kentucky congressman.
—
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Yes, the title challengers were dominant on home turf, but the statistics suggest Perri should have kept the score down.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Because disruption doesn’t wait, when a brand giant stumbles, challengers such as fast-growing On and Hoka are the ones capturing the revenue that is left behind.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2025
Their challengers — Denver could be the best of them — have no choice but to prepare for battle against that elusiveness.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
Season 42 continues on Friday with Cindy Del Rosario returning as champion to face two new challengers.
—Usa Today Staff, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Peacock has some name recognition that could boost his campaign above other recent Republican challengers.
—Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
Cohen beat back primary challengers in his first campaigns for the 9th congressional district, who argued that the majority-Black seat deserved Black representation.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Cohen easily trounced his primary challengers last year, with the closest runner-up, Corey Strong, trailing him by more than 50 points.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 8 Oct. 2025
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Yes, the title challengers were dominant on home turf, but the statistics suggest Perri should have kept the score down.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Because disruption doesn’t wait, when a brand giant stumbles, challengers such as fast-growing On and Hoka are the ones capturing the revenue that is left behind.
—Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2025
Their challengers — Denver could be the best of them — have no choice but to prepare for battle against that elusiveness.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
Season 42 continues on Friday with Cindy Del Rosario returning as champion to face two new challengers.
—Usa Today Staff, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Peacock has some name recognition that could boost his campaign above other recent Republican challengers.
—Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
Cohen beat back primary challengers in his first campaigns for the 9th congressional district, who argued that the majority-Black seat deserved Black representation.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Cohen easily trounced his primary challengers last year, with the closest runner-up, Corey Strong, trailing him by more than 50 points.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for challengers
Noun
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Despite the advances in AI, Duan concedes that early domestic CAE software lagged behind foreign competitors in several areas.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
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Kahn is optimistic that Coach’s focus on a smaller number of affordable, yet consistent products puts it in a better place to manage cost and price increases than its competitors.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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My model will need to see something more impressive before believing in them as contenders.—
Austin Mock,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Thanks to a scheduling quirk, the Spartans don’t face Boise State or UNLV – two of the conference’s top title contenders – this season.—
Aaron Johnson,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Some even licked the candy to soften it -- a trick used by contestants in the show.—
Hakyung Kate Lee,
ABC News,
17 Oct. 2025
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With a hundred or so onlookers seated in chairs positioned in a semicircle in the library lobby, the contestants took turns busting rhymes.—
Jeff Pearlman,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Analysts say Nike’s lack of product innovation and absence from wholesalers in recent years allowed those upstart rivals to gain market share.—
Merritt Enright,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
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The Israeli Premier League match was due to be played at Bloomfield Stadium, which is shared by the two rivals, but videos on social media showed fans clashing with police both inside and outside the area.—
Amy Woodyatt,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Challengers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/challengers. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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