contend

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.

verb

1. (intransitive) To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
   2011, Osaiah "Ike" Wilson III, James J.F. Forrest, Handbook of Defence Politics the armies of Syria and Lebanon lack the capability to contend with the Israeli army, as demonstrated during the course of the First Lebanon War.
2. (intransitive) 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 2020, C. Matthew McMahon, Therese B. McMahon, 5 Marks of Christian Resolve
3. (intransitive) To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.
4. (intransitive) 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 1996, Michael Adler, Erio Ziglio, Gazing Into the Oracle[…]
   His critics contend the eight years [term limit] expired Tuesday, the day before the anniversary of Prayuth officially becoming prime minister in the military government installed after the coup. 2022-08-24, Tassanee Vejpongsa, Grant Peck, “Thai court suspends PM Prayuth pending ruling on term limit”, in The Washington Post, retrieved 2022-08-24
5. contend with: 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. December 29 2021, Dominique Louis, “Causal analysis: crashworthiness at Sandilands”, in RAIL, number 947, page 32