Meaning & use
contender
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablesport
A person, team or thing taking part in a competition and having a real chance of winning it.
Grammar: Countable, often followed by for: a contender for the title.
Patterns
- a contender for something
- a serious contender
She is a strong contender for the gold medal.
The young team is a surprising contender this season.
He was a serious contender for the job until the last interview.
nouncountablesport
A boxer or fighter ranked high enough to be allowed to challenge the champion.
Grammar: Often used in boxing: the top contender.
Patterns
- the number one contender
The top contender will fight the champion in June.
He rose from unknown fighter to title contender in a year.
Critics called her the best contender in the division.
Word forms
| plural | contenders |
|---|
Common combinations
- a serious contender
- The new phone is a serious contender in the market.
- a leading contender
- He is the leading contender for the nomination.
- a title contender
- The club has become a title contender.
- an unlikely contender
- An unlikely contender won the race.
- a contender for an award
- The film is a contender for best picture.
Synonyms and how they differ
- candidate
- A candidate is someone put forward for a post or prize, whether or not they are likely to win.
- competitor
- Competitor is any participant, while contender implies a real chance of winning.
- rival
- A rival is someone competing against you specifically, which is more personal than contender.
- challenger
- A challenger tries to beat an existing champion, so it is narrower than contender.
Opposites
Word family
- contend verb
- To compete, or to argue that something is true.
- contention noun
- Competition or a claim argued for.
- contentious adjective
- Likely to cause disagreement.
- contestant noun
- Someone who takes part in a contest.
Commonly confused: contender or contestant?
contender vs contestant
A contestant is anyone entered in a contest, but a contender has a real chance of winning.
Practice
Dozens of runners entered the race, but only three were genuine ___ for first place.
Choose one answer.
Contenders are competitors with a real chance of winning. The other options are not competitors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contender”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.