contested

[ kuhn-tes-tid ]

adjective

1. battled; fought:

   Bates pulled off the win, 82–79, in a tightly contested matchup.

2. involving a disagreement or dispute:

   The waiting period for a contested divorce has been reduced to 12 months.

3. being fought over; in dispute:

   The contested land is located 30 kilometers south of the city.

   At times, the parties may not come to an agreement, or they may only agree on some of the contested issues.

4. involving more than one candidate:

   Congressional redistricting and a contested Senate seat led to a series of competitive Michigan primaries on Tuesday.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of contest ( def ).

Other Words From

• un·con·test·ed adjective
• un·con·test·ed·ly adverb
• well-con·test·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of contested¹

contest ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

House of Representatives next year after defeating Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, in a hotly contested race to represent a Riverside County swing district.

From Los Angeles Times

What we can say, though, is that this was not an electoral landslide, but a narrowly contested race in which Trump is likely to have benefited as much from who didn’t turn out to vote for his candidacy than who did turn out to vote for him.

From Salon

It is taking place indoors at the Palacios de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena, with the final being contested on 20 November.

From BBC

And just like last time, even the manner of her departure is contested.

From BBC

Today, much of Mexico is contested by warring criminal groups that operate with near impunity and are often aligned with political leaders.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• debated