contenders

noun

plural of contender
1
as in candidates
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 competitors
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 contenders Other top contenders include victory in World War II and the moon landing. — Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 25 June 2026 Emmys season is about ot begin, and with it, a slew of contenders destined for nominations and memorialization by way of snubs chatter. — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026 Other potential 2028 contenders are also beginning to stake out their positions on AI. — Juhi Doshi, ABC News, 26 June 2026 Veteran catchers rarely generate headlines in July, but their value becomes clear when contenders suddenly need stability behind the plate. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026 See IndieWire’s full list of 2026 Emmy predictions, complete with frontrunners, contenders, and long shots on our website. — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 2 July 2026 Such has been such a dramatic overhaul in the conference that the Heat at one moment can be viewed as contenders for the NBA Finals and at another the perception quite reasonably can be … right back in the play-in pool. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 July 2026 Matthew Brewer, previously the CHA’s interim CEO and board chair, declared his candidacy in the 2027 mayoral race, the latest addition to a widening pool of contenders. — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026 Elsewhere, general classification contenders Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) all produced good performances to stay within 40 seconds of the leading pair. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contenders
  1. candidates
  2. competitors
  3. contestants
  4. rivals
  5. challengers
Noun
  • There were 4,183 ballots cast in the Kings/Ducks voting, and four candidates received at least 75% of the vote.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • His youngest daughter is now among the six candidates in the special election that will decide who finishes his term.
    — Tia Mitchell, AJC.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of candidates
Noun
  • Comcast faces competitors beyond traditional telecommunications firms, including AT&T and T-Mobile.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Cisco has built and is refining an AI tool for investor relations that analyzes its financial history alongside competitors’ earnings calls and can anticipate likely questions from specific analysts.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 1 July 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • The Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York on July 4, where contestants ate several days' worth of calories in just 10 minutes.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • The arrest comes after two female contestants on the reality series alleged in a BBC report published in May that they were raped by their husbands while filming the show.
    — Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • After six innings, the crowd of 38,872 watching two historic rivals sat through a 15-minute delay.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • The South American rivals may just end up facing each other in a week.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026
Definition of rivals
Noun
  • Season 42 continues on Wednesday with Richard Nguyen returning as champion to face two new challengers.
    — USA TODAY Staff, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Three Democratic incumbents have now lost to progressive challengers as midterms season kicks into high gear.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of challengers

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Cite this Entry

“Contenders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contenders. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on contenders

Nglish: Translation of contenders for Spanish Speakers

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