no contest

English

Etymology

Calque of Latin nolō contendere (“I don't want to contest”).

Noun

no contest (uncountable)

1. (US, law) A plea in a criminal case which means that the defendant admits no guilt but is no longer contesting the charges brought against him/her.

   Synonym: nolo contendere

2. (US, law) A clause in a will that imposes a penalty of forfeiture against any beneficiary who challenges the will.
   • 2021, Susan F. French, A California Companion for the Course in Wills, Trusts, and Estates:

     No contest clauses are valid in California and are favored by the public policies of discouraging litigation and giving effect to the settlor's expressed purposes.

3. (boxing, historical) The result of a boxing bout, promoted as an exhibition when the sport of boxing was illegal, when a knockout did not occur.
4. (boxing) A bout that the referee cancels early, either due to a serious injury early in the fight or due to a lack of action
5. An election in which the candidate runs unopposed.

Interjection

no contest (informal)

(The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

1. Used to indicate that a competition or comparison is one-sided and so its outcome is too obvious to be interesting.

   Synonym: no comparison

2. (emphatic) Expresses lack of doubt (i.e., certainty) in a choice between options or preferences.

   I'll take a Porsche, no contest!

Phrase

no contest

1. Indicates the perceived lack of any real competition because the “winner” or superior choice is obvious.
   • 2000 November 5, Peter M. Nichols, “HOLIDAY FILMS; Studios Move Slowly With DVD Boxed Sets”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     To all the things DVD does better than the videocassette, add the boxed set. In looks alone there is no contest.

Usage notes

Usually in the phrase “there is(/was) no contest”.

Synonyms

• no comparison

Further reading

• “no contest” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “no contest”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “no contest”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “no contest” (US) / “no contest” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.