Meaning of beauty contest | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A competition in which participants compete for a determination that one is the most physically attractive.
2. A tender in which bidders are ranked according to some (known or secret) criteria.

Examples

“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).”

CEFR level