contract
an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified.
an agreement enforceable by law.
the written form of an agreement enforceable by law.
the division of law dealing with contracts.
Also called contract bridge . a variety of bridge in which the side that wins the bid can earn toward game only that number of tricks named in the contract, additional points being credited above the line.: Compare auction bridge.
(in auction or contract bridge)
a commitment by the declarer and their partner to take six tricks plus the number specified by the final bid made.
the final bid that specifies the number of tricks to which players must commit.
the number of tricks to which players are committed, plus six.
the formal agreement of marriage; betrothal.
Slang. an arrangement for a hired assassin to kill a specific person.
under an agreement enforceable by law; governed or arranged by special legal agreement: As a contract carrier with us, you'll have access to more loads than with any other provider in North America.
to draw together; make shorter, thinner, narrower, etc.: In order to contract a muscle, the opposite muscle group has to be relaxed.
to shorten (a word, phrase, etc.) by combining or omitting some of its elements: Contracting “do not” yields “don't.”
to get or acquire, as by exposure to something contagious: I contracted malaria but didn't recognize the symptoms at first.
to incur, as a liability or obligation: He was very extravagant at college, and contracted many debts.
to settle or establish by agreement: Bismarck contracted an alliance with Austria to counteract Russian designs in Eastern Europe.
to assign (a job, work, project, etc.) by contract: The publisher contracted the artwork.
to enter into an agreement with: We contracted a freelancer to do the editing.
to enter into (friendship, acquaintance, etc.).
to betroth.
to wrinkle: to contract the brows.
to become reduced in length, width, thickness, etc., by drawing together; become smaller: The pupils of his eyes contracted in the light.
to enter into an agreement: We contracted to have the books printed and bound by Willow Press.
contract out, to hire an outside contractor to produce or do.
Idioms about contract
put out a contract on, Slang. to hire or attempt to hire an assassin to kill (someone): The mob put out a contract on the informer.
Origin of contract
1synonym study For contract
Other words for contract
Opposites for contract
Other words from contract
- con·tract·ee [kon-trak-tee], /ˌkɒn trækˈti/, noun
- con·tract·i·ble, adjective
- con·tract·i·bil·i·ty [kuhn-trak-tuh-bil-i-tee], /kənˌtræk təˈbɪl ɪ ti/, con·tract·i·ble·ness, noun
- con·tract·i·bly, adverb
- non·con·tract, adjective
- o·ver·con·tract, verb (used with object)
- post·con·tract, noun
- re·con·tract, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use contract in a sentence
As the New York Times writes, the risk of contracting Ebola in this country remains "vanishingly small."
But it is unfounded fear by an American public at minimal risk of contracting the illness that is confounding those efforts.
The military maintains that the risk of contracting the virus is minimal.
For the overwhelming majority of people in this country, the likelihood of contracting it is fleetingly small.
Parents’ Ebola Panic Is Taking Over My Clinic | Russell Saunders | October 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat remains unclear is just how many women McFarland may have knowingly put in danger of contracting HIV.
Alabama Church Says HIV-Positive Preacher Slept With Flock | Matthew Paul Turner | October 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The whole thing begins to have a jigsaw look, like a child's toy rack with wooden soldiers on it, expanding and contracting.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockAgain, he may have lucid intervals during which he is quite as capable of contracting as other persons.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesThe company is composed of three contracting persons without admitting therein any other whatever.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickThe savages, one by one, broke away from the group and began to circle rapidly to the left in a constantly contracting spiral.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward WhiteIt was not, however, to enter Spain without the agreement of both contracting parties.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte | William Milligan Sloane
British Dictionary definitions for contract
to make or become smaller, narrower, shorter, etc: metals contract as the temperature is reduced
(ˈkɒntrækt) (when intr, sometimes foll by for; when tr, may take an infinitive) to enter into an agreement with (a person, company, etc) to deliver (goods or services) or to do (something) on mutually agreed and binding terms, often in writing
to draw or be drawn together; coalesce or cause to coalesce
(tr) to acquire, incur, or become affected by (a disease, liability, debt, etc)
(tr) to shorten (a word or phrase) by the omission of letters or syllables, usually indicated in writing by an apostrophe
phonetics to unite (two vowels) or (of two vowels) to be united within a word or at a word boundary so that a new long vowel or diphthong is formed
(tr) to wrinkle or draw together (the brow or a muscle)
(tr) to arrange (a marriage) for; betroth
a formal agreement between two or more parties
a document that states the terms of such an agreement
the branch of law treating of contracts
marriage considered as a formal agreement
See contract bridge
bridge
(in the bidding sequence before play) the highest bid, which determines trumps and the number of tricks one side must try to make
the number and suit of these tricks
slang
a criminal agreement to kill a particular person in return for an agreed sum of money
(as modifier): a contract killing
Origin of contract
1Derived forms of contract
- contractible, adjective
- contractibly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for contract
A legally binding agreement between two or more parties.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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