contests

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of contest.

   The festival's photography contests drew entries from across the region.

   Several legal contests over the boundary delayed construction for years.

   Note

   A plural that mostly counts competitions. When contest means controversy or a struggle for superiority, it is usually a mass noun, so the plural leans toward separate events: photography contests, or individual legal contests over a boundary. The same spelling also serves as the verb form (she contests the title). Position in the sentence, not the ending, tells you which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of contest.

   The opposition leader contests the official figures released after the vote.

   Each season she contests the regional title against the same two rivals.

   Note

   The present-tense form usually takes a direct object: a rival contests a title, a critic contests the figures, a party contests a claim or a suit in court. That legal use means disputing or defending something by course of law. Without an object it simply means to contend. Because it shares its spelling with the plural noun, look for a singular subject in front of it.

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