contest

1 an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another the eternal contest between the forces of good and the forces of evil Synonyms ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, confrontation, contention, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfare Related Words horse race, nail-biter; showdown; clash, collision, discord, friction; argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangle Near Antonyms concord, harmony, peace

2 a competitive encounter between individuals or groups carried on for amusement, exercise, or in pursuit of a prize a contest for the gold medal in diving Synonyms bout, competition, game, event, match, matchup, meet, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tournament, tourneyRelated Words athletics, sport; battle, conflict, scrimmage, skirmish, struggle, tug-of-war, tussle; championship, national(s); final, nightcap, play-off, semifinal; derby, field day, gymkhana, open, outing; biathlon, decathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon, triathlon; marathon, race, ultramarathon; heat, round, run, set; rally, volley; round-robin, rubber, runoff, sudden death; dead heat, photo finish, seesaw; classic

3 a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups what mighty contests have been waged on trivial matters Synonyms battle, clash, combat, conflict, fight, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussleRelated Words pitched battle, rough-and-tumble; affray [chiefly British], battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée), mix-up, ruckus, ruction; blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up [chiefly British], slugfest; confrontation, duel, face-off, joust; altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argument, argy-bargy [chiefly British], contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle; catfightNear Antonyms truce