popularity contest

noun

: a contest or situation in which the person who wins or is most successful is the one who is most popular rather than the one who is most skillful, qualified, etc.

The election was just a popularity contest. Voters didn't really care about the issues.

—often used to say that someone or something is not popular

After laying off hundreds of workers, the company isn't going to win any popularity contests around here.

Examples of popularity contest in a Sentence

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Companies would run more smoothly, and teams would be happier and more effective if we were taught that leadership is not a popularity contest. — Peter D. Banko, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026 Elections reduce that complex hiring decision to a popularity contest shaped by slogans, mailers, donor lists and how popular the folks above you on the ballot are. — Eugene M. Hyman, Mercury News, 18 Nov. 2025 Democrats don’t expect that to work, but they’ve been rattled by the GOP’s Youngkin-Spanberger popularity contest. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 14 Apr. 2026 Is this basically a popularity contest? — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for popularity contest

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popularity

popularity contest

popularization

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“Popularity contest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/popularity%20contest. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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popularity contest

noun

Examples of popularity contest in a Sentence

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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