contend
/kənˈtɛnd/
"contend" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contend” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,692 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #13,692
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kənˈtɛnd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #13,692 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contend” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for contend is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kənˈtɛnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,692 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for contend, with forms such as "ccontend", "cnotend", and "conetnd". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "content", "context", "contest", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English contenden, borrowed from Old French contendre, from Latin contendere (“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend”), from com- (“together”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend, and compare attend, extend, intend, subtend. The correct English form is contend, spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
- 2To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend.
- 3To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.
- 4To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate.
- 5To try to cope with a difficulty or problem.
Etymology
From Middle English contenden, borrowed from Old French contendre, from Latin contendere (“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend”), from com- (“together”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend, and compare attend, extend, intend, subtend.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontend,cnotend,conetnd,conntend,contedn,contendd,contennd,contned,conttend,cotnend,ocntend
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contend - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “contend”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-T-E-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kənˈtɛnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “content” - see the side-by-side comparison. contend vs content
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.