How to Use contention in a Sentence

contention

noun
Definition of contentionnext
Synonyms for contentionnext
  • That has been a source of contention for years.
  • He is in contention for the Olympic medal.
  • All quotes from QDB.
  • Tiger Woods splashed his way into contention in the New Zealand Open … shooting a four under par to close within six strokes of the lead.
    — New York Times, 13 Jan. 2002
  • What could get the Democrats in contention to maybe hold the House?
    — CBS News, 16 Oct. 2022
  • Next day, top 20, and then go out and get in contention.
    — Leonard Shapiro, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • This isn't the first time pensions have been a point of contention in France.
    — Brigid Kennedy, The Week, 2 Feb. 2023
  • So New Orleans is out of contention for the fourth seed.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2023
  • The first point of contention is the most obvious: the color gray.
    — The Courier-Journal, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Bubba had the fastest car and charged for the lead late — but got wrecked out of contention in the final five laps.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2024
  • The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union is likely to be a bone of contention.
    — Stephen Castle, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023
  • Brown should also be in contention for a third-team All-NBA slot.
    — Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022
  • This has been one major source of contention around ESAs.
    — Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2024
  • And is Texas ready to leap from eight wins to championship contention?
    — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 2 May 2023
  • But the final communiqué could turn out to be a bone of contention.
    — Omkar Poojari, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Sep. 2023
  • The issue brought the Democrats into contention in the face of all that economic news.
    — Anthony Salvanto, Kabir Khanna, Jennifer De Pinto, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2022
  • The question of whether deputies had a search warrant to begin with was an item of contention as well.
    — Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2024
  • But as far as Casagrande knows, only one film was taken out of contention for the award.
    — NBC News, 6 Sep. 2022
  • With the trial just over a month away, the main area of contention is over the content of each side’s arguments.
    — Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 29 Aug. 2023
  • But the slides by the Pelicans and Trail Blazers has thrust the Jazz into contention.
    — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2023
  • The Sox finally got over the hump in the final month and finished at 85-77 but well out of contention.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2022
  • There was bristling within the audience, the first spark of contention.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2024
  • That game probably would have been in contention for a spot on this list.
    — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2022
  • The window of contention slammed shut on the Suns faster than anyone could have imagined.
    — J. Robbins, J. Edwards and D. Mayberry, The Athletic, 8 Feb. 2025
  • Okposo had not been to the playoffs since 2016 and the Sabres were already out of playoff contention.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 June 2024
  • At 7-4, Illinois has plenty to play for as it’s still in contention to finish first in the Big Ten West.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 26 Nov. 2022
  • Chicago and Cincinnati dropped out of contention a long time ago, and the Cubs grabbed control right at the start against Nick Lodolo (3-4).
    — Jay Cohen, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The Browns have locked up a playoff berth, while the Bengals are out of postseason contention.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2024
  • The Royals were out of contention and amid a long losing streak when Quatraro gave a passionate speech.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2025
  • As for the Heat dropping further in the East standings and completely falling out of playoff contention, that’s unlikely.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contention.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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