S: (n) chicken (a foolhardy competition; a dangerous activity that is continued until one competitor becomes afraid and stops)
S: (n) cliffhanger (a contest whose outcome is uncertain up to the very end)
S: (n) dogfight (a fiercely disputed contest) "their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them"; "a real dogfight for third place"; "a prolonged dogfight over their rival bids for the contract"
S: (n) race (a contest of speed) "the race is to the swift"
S: (n) tournament, tourney (a sporting competition in which contestants play a series of games to decide the winner)
S: (n) playoff (any final competition to determine a championship)
S: (n) rubber (a contest consisting of a series of successive matches between the same sides) "he won three out of five games to take the rubber"
S: (n) series ((sports) several contests played successively by the same teams) "the visiting team swept the series"
S: (n) field trial (a contest between gun dogs to determine their proficiency in pointing and retrieving)
S: (n) match (a formal contest in which two or more persons or teams compete)
S: (n) tournament (a series of jousts between knights contesting for a prize)
S: (n) race (any competition) "the race for the presidency"