beauty contest

Meanings

nounbeauty contest (plural beauty contests)

A competition in which participants compete for a determination that one is the most physically attractive.
The locomotives were labelled 'ugly', 'unsightly' and 'industrial', as their cab fronts were a mass of slats, grooves and blocks (despite the fact that, of course, locomotives are for work - it's not a beauty contest).
2019 December 4, Pip Dunn, “Class 70s: a decade of disappointment?”, in Rail, page 65
Synonyms: beauty pageant
businessA tender in which bidders are ranked according to some (known or secret) criteria.

nounA competition in which participants compete for a determination that one is the most physically attractive.

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Cite this entry

APA

beauty contest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beauty%20contest

MLA

“beauty contest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beauty%20contest. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beauty contest,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beauty%20contest.