1
as in candidate
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award
a strong contender for the mayoral position
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in competitor
one who strives for the same thing as another
several contenders competing for the title of the city's best Italian restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contender
Both are well behind perennial state-title contender South Dade, which has 199 points.
—
Steve Gorches, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2025
The Seahawks will immediately be a contender for free agent quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers and others searching for a new team.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
The Knicks now fall to 0-8 this season against legitimate championship contenders.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
The pressing question was whether Lucas, the 36-year-old son of former NBA star and coach John Lucas, would remain with the Blue Devils through the post-season, as the Blue Devils are a national title contender.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contender
Steve Gorches, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2025
The Seahawks will immediately be a contender for free agent quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers and others searching for a new team.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
The Knicks now fall to 0-8 this season against legitimate championship contenders.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
The pressing question was whether Lucas, the 36-year-old son of former NBA star and coach John Lucas, would remain with the Blue Devils through the post-season, as the Blue Devils are a national title contender.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender
Noun
-
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko Another high-profile candidate would be Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko who has also defied Zelensky on a few occasions throughout the war.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Barri Worth Girvan, who has been serving as director of community affairs for Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, recently formed her campaign committee, expanding the number of potential candidates to three.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In fact, research shows that companies putting talent at the heart of their business strategy achieve higher total shareholder returns than their competitors.—
Sherzod Odilov,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
-
The event, which included more than 90 competitors from sixth to eighth grade, brought together students from public and independent schools countywide at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in San Diego.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
And Bong is the wrong pop artist to convey cultural dissent — as Kendrick Lamar did in his controversial Super Bowl Halftime Show that portrayed black Americans as video game figures resembling Mickey in his space suit and those contestants in Squid Game TV series.—
Armond White,
National Review,
12 Mar. 2025
-
Further, protecting contestants from isolation and being exemplified or tokenized – at all levels of productions – is needed to provide greater accountability when portraying the raw realities of LGBTQ people on screen in a reality setting.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Six years later, Sea started Shopee in Singapore and has since become a regional e-commerce behemoth that now competes against rivals such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba.—
Jonathan Burgos,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Poilievre is Trudeau's rival and a favorite to become Canada's next leader, according to recent polls.—
Democrat-Gazette staff and wire reports,
arkansasonline.com,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contender. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share