popularity contest
19
3.2
- noun
- /ˌpɑːpjuˈlærɪti ˈkɒntɛst/
- Informal
:
concurso de popularidad
- Winning the election felt more like a popularity contest than a measure of qualifications.
- win a popularity contest
- lose a popularity contest
- just a popularity contest
I definitely feel like it is a popularity contest, right?
- I definitely feel like it is a popularity contest, right?
- We tried to be their parents and not win a popularity contest.
- How much does it matter whether you're following people who are in that realm versus this popularity contest?
Examples
-
Letter to the Editor: Electing a judge is not a popularity contest.
Blog text (7) -
More than ever, today's presidential election has become a popularity contest with the media leading the charge.
Blog text (26) -
We're not trying to win a popularity contest.
-
Being Teacher of the Year is nothing more than a popularity contest.
Blog text (3) -
Instead, what we have these days is mostly a popularity contest.
Blog text (29) -
Well, we're not here to win any popularity contests.
-
Science is not a popularity contest, as others, including Dave Levin, have noted already.
Blog text (26) -
The presidency shouldn't just be a popularity contest, although sadly it's turned into this.
Blog text (25) -
Every year people complain about the Goodreads Choice Award being a popularity contest, and I don't disagree.
-
I wasn't winning any popularity contests with Headmaster Selwyn.
Fiction book (1994)
Antonyms
- Formal
1
3.7
A way to hire and promote people in government or companies based on ability
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a competition based on being liked' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'popularity' (being well-liked) with 'contest' (a competition). This compositional pattern—a contest about popularity—is straightforward and occurs in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Popularity contest comes from the image of a contest where winners are chosen for popularity — 'being liked' by many people — rather than for 'real skill' or 'ability'. So, the phrase now means a choice or competition decided by who is most liked, not by who is best.