比賽、角逐一個位子
兩邊爭同一樣東西，最容易看見的一種：有規則、有裁判、有一個獎。名詞是那場比賽本身，動詞是投身進去爭。
competition · noun · B1
A competition or a situation in which two or more people or groups try to win or be the best.
比賽／競賽
核心畫面
You can picture two sides standing face to face over the same thing, each one making its claim in front of everybody: the prize, the seat, the verdict can only go one way, so both sides push until one of them gets it. Whether they are running a race or arguing a case, the shape is the same.
可以想成兩邊面對面站著，爭同一樣東西，而且是當著大家的面各說各的：獎、位子、判決只能給一邊，所以兩邊都往前推，推到其…更多收起
可以想成兩邊面對面站著，爭同一樣東西，而且是當著大家的面各說各的：獎、位子、判決只能給一邊，所以兩邊都往前推，推到其中一邊拿到為止。不管是在跑道上比賽，還是在會議室裡吵一份文件，形狀都是同一個。From the word’s history
From Latin contestari (litem) 'to call to witness, bring an action', from com- 'together' + testari 'to bear witness' (testis 'a witness'). The Roman way to open a lawsuit was to call in witnesses; from there English took 'fight or do battle for' (c. 1600), then 'dispute, argue against' (1610s-1660s), and only in the 1640s the noun 'a struggle for victory or a prize'.
拉丁文 contestari (litem) 的意思是「召喚證人、提起訴訟」，由 com-「一起」加 testari「作證」（testis 就是證人）組成。羅馬人開始打官司的第一步就是把證人叫來，所以這個字一開始整個站在法庭裡。後來它先變成「為某件事拚搏」，再變成「提出異議、反對」，名詞的「比賽」反而是最後（1640 年代）才長出來的。知道這條線，contest 三個看起來不相干的用法就串起來了：比賽、正式提出異議、法律上的 plead no contest——都是「兩邊在公開場合把事情爭出一個結果」。
Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/contest
Three branches
根本沒得爭：no contest
把上面那場比賽整個拿掉。說 no contest 就是說兩邊的差距大到根本推不起來——名義上有兩邊，實際上只有一邊。
no contest (one is clearly better) · noun · B2
No contest: used to say that one person or thing is clearly much better than the others.
沒得比
正式提出異議（法庭裡的老家）
爭的東西換成「這件事到底算不算數」。這一支其實是這個字最早的樣子——先有法庭上的爭辯，後來才有運動場上的比賽——所以它的語氣一直比較正式，旁邊常站著 will、result、decision 這些會被人拿來翻案的字。
dispute formally · verb · B2
To say formally that you do not accept or agree with something, and to argue against it.
提出異議／爭辯
原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
contestnoun/ˈkɒn.tɛst/
- 1
Controversy; debate.
- no contest
- Your question betrays, I suspect, a somewhat naive vision of the world as much smaller (and much more homogenized) than it could possibly be — a vision that one of my "personal" visions, as you'll find it in some of my recent science fiction, is specifically and heartedly in contest with.
- 2
Struggle for superiority; combat.
- 3
A competition.
- The child entered the spelling contest.
contestverb/kənˈtɛst/
- 1
To contend.
- I will contest for the open seat on the board.
- Of man, who dares in pomp with Jove contest?
- 2
To call into question; to oppose.
- The rival contested the dictator's re-election because of claims of voting irregularities.
- Few philosophical aphorisms have been more frequently repeated, few more contested than this.
- 3
To strive earnestly to hold or maintain; to struggle to defend.
- The troops contested every inch of ground.
- 4
lawTo make a subject of litigation; to defend, as a suit; to dispute or resist, as a claim, by course of law.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。