contender
Pluralcontenders
- 1A person who has a genuine chance of winning a competition.
With strong backing and a proven record, the startup emerged as a contender for the contract.
Analysts named three contenders likely to reach the championship.
Similarfavorite, frontrunner, challenger, candidate
Oppositeunderdog, outsider, also-ran
Note
Here the word stops describing and starts judging. To call someone a contender is to say they might win, not merely that they entered, which is a step up from anyone who competes. It usually takes for plus the prize: a contender for the title, a contender for the contract. David Hytner in The Guardian uses it this way when Wenger predicts Özil would be a contender for the player of the year awards.
- 2A person who competes against one or more other people.
Each contender submitted an entry before the deadline.
The two contenders argued their cases before the judges.
Similarcompetitor, contestant, rival, entrant, challenger
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
Formed from the verb "contend" with the suffix "-er", denoting a person who contends or competes.