contend

verb

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.

1. To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.

   “The Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle.”

   “For never two such kingdoms did contend without much fall of blood.”

2. To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend.

   “17th century, John Dryden, Epistle III to the Lady Castlemain You sit above, and see vain men below / Contend for what you only can bestow.”

   “God has entrusted something to the church, and it is the church's job to contend for it, even unto death”

3. To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.

   “these simple ideas are far from those innate principles which some contend for”

   “many of those things he so fiercely contended about , were either falle or trivial”

4. To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate.

   “In this paper the author contends that no useful results can be obtained if this method is used.”

   “Some panellists contended that the costs of research and care justified the establishment of a permanent national commission”

5. To try to cope with a difficulty or problem.

   “However, the challenges for the railway world are much greater than for automotive as we generally have more occupants, higher speeds, greater masses, higher energies, and an absence of seatbelts or airbags to contend with.”