Contestant

How to spell contestant

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce contestant

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does contestant mean?

1. nounA person who takes part in a competition, game show, or contest.

Contestant in a sentence

• Each contestant had ninety seconds to answer the quiz round.

• The final contestant stepped onto the stage to face the judges.

Where does contestant come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb contestari, which literally meant 'to call to witness' or 'to bring an action by calling witnesses'. It was built from the prefix con-, meaning 'together', and testari, 'to bear witness', the same root that gives us 'testify' and 'testimony'. In Roman legal use a lawsuit was begun by both parties summoning witnesses, so the idea of two sides facing off was baked in from the start. English took 'contest' through French in the late 1500s, and the agent noun 'contestant', meaning 'one who takes part in a contest', followed in the 1700s. The hidden 'test' inside the spelling is a handy memory anchor: a contestant is someone whose performance is put to the test.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• test (from testari: to witness, bear witness)
• -ant (noun suffix: one who does)