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challenger

n.
US //ˈtʃæɫəndʒɝ// UK //tʃˈælɪndʒɐ// chal·lenger
  1. 1 a competitor (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

    someone who competes against a champion or a leader to win their title or position.

    a person or team that competes against a titleholder or incumbent in a contest or election.

    Example

    The young boxer is the first serious challenger the champion has faced in years.

    Example

    The political newcomer emerged as a formidable challenger to the long-standing mayor, gaining significant ground in the recent polls.
  2. 2 one who disputes (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Law

    a person who questions or disagrees with an idea, a rule, or a statement.

    an individual who formally or informally disputes the validity, legality, or truth of a claim or system.

    Example

    The legal challenger argued that the new law was unfair to small businesses.

    Example

    As a persistent challenger of established scientific theories, she spent her career gathering evidence that contradicted the mainstream consensus.
    • dissenter
    • objector
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  1. 3 tennis tournament tier (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Sport

    a professional tennis tournament that is one level below the top world tour.

    a series of professional tennis tournaments constituting the second-highest tier of the ATP circuit.

    Example

    He won three challenger titles this year before moving up to the main tour.

    Example

    Competing on the Challenger circuit is a grueling but necessary step for players aiming to break into the top one hundred world rankings.

  2. 4 the Space Shuttle (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Science

    the name of a famous American space shuttle that was destroyed in an accident in 1986.

    the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program, which suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after launch in January 1986.

    Example

    The teacher showed us a video about the history of the Challenger mission.

    Example

    The Challenger disaster led to a significant hiatus in the American space program while safety protocols were completely overhauled.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English chalengere, chalangeour, chalenger (“one who causes injury, or makes false charges or slanderous statements; one who disputes, disputant, objector; claimant”), and then partly from both of the following: From Middle English chalengen (“to accuse; to accuse falsely or maliciously, slander; to treat unjustly, wrong; to dispute, object; to make a claim or demand; to rebuke, scold; to issue a challenge to; etc.”) + -er, -ere (suffix forming agent nouns). Chalengen is derived from Anglo-Norman chalenger, and Old French chalenger, chalongier (“to challenge, dispute; to claim; etc.”) (modern French challenger), from Late Latin calumniāre, the second-person singular present active imperative or indicative of calumnior (“to accuse falsely; to make hurtful untrue comments about; etc.”), from Latin calumnia (“artifice, trickery; false accusation; false statement; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱeh₁l-, *keh₁l- (“to beguile, deceive”)) + -or (the first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). * From Old French chalengeor (“claimant, plaintiff; false accuser, slanderer”) (modern French challengeur), from chalenger, chalongier (see above) + -eor (variant of -or (suffix forming agent nouns)). By surface analysis, challenge (verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

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