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con·tract 
Audio Help [n., adj., and usually for v. 15–17, 21, 22 kon-trakt; otherwise v. kuhn-trakt] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [n., adj., and usually for v. 15–17, 21, 22 kon-trakt; otherwise v. kuhn-trakt] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
—Verb phrase
—Idiom
| 1. | an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified. |
| 2. | an agreement enforceable by law. |
| 3. | the written form of such an agreement. |
| 4. | the division of law dealing with contracts. |
| 5. | 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. |
| 6. | (in auction or contract bridge)
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| 7. | the formal agreement of marriage; betrothal. |
| 8. | Slang. an arrangement for a hired assassin to kill a specific person. |
| 9. | under contract; governed or arranged by special contract: a contract carrier. |
| 10. | to draw together or into smaller compass; draw the parts of together: to contract a muscle. |
| 11. | to wrinkle: to contract the brows. |
| 12. | to shorten (a word, phrase, etc.) by combining or omitting some of its elements: Contracting “do not” yields “don't.” |
| 13. | to get or acquire, as by exposure to something contagious: to contract a disease. |
| 14. | to incur, as a liability or obligation: to contract a debt. |
| 15. | to settle or establish by agreement: to contract an alliance. |
| 16. | to assign (a job, work, project, etc.) by contract: The publisher contracted the artwork. |
| 17. | to enter into an agreement with: to contract a free-lancer to do the work. |
| 18. | to enter into (friendship, acquaintance, etc.). |
| 19. | to betroth. |
| 20. | to become drawn together or reduced in compass; become smaller; shrink: The pupils of his eyes contracted in the light. |
| 21. | to enter into an agreement: to contract for snow removal. |
| 22. | contract out, to hire an outside contractor to produce or do. |
| 23. | 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: 1275–1325; (n.) ME (< AF) < L contractus undertaking a transaction, agreement, equiv. to contrac-, var. s. of contrahere to draw in, bring together, enter into an agreement (con- con- + trahere to drag, pull; cf. traction) + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) < L contractus, ptp. of contrahere]
] —Related forms
con·tract·ee, noun
con·tract·i·ble, adjective
con·tract·i·bil·i·ty, con·tract·i·ble·ness, noun
con·tract·i·bly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. See agreement. 10. reduce, shorten, lessen, narrow, shrivel, shrink. Contract, compress, concentrate, condense imply retaining original content but reducing the amount of space occupied. Contract means to cause to draw more closely together: to contract a muscle. Compress suggests fusing to become smaller by means of fairly uniform external pressure: to compress gases into liquid form. Concentrate implies causing to gather around a point: to concentrate troops near an objective; to concentrate one's strength. Condense implies increasing the compactness, or thickening the consistency of a homogeneous mass: to condense milk. It is also used to refer to the reducing in length of a book or the like.
—Antonyms 10. expand.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Contract
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| con·tract
Audio Help (kŏn'trākt') Pronunciation Key
n.
v. (kən-trākt', kŏn'trākt') con·tract·ed, con·tract·ing, con·tracts v. tr.
v. intr.
Phrasal Verb(s): contract out To engage a person outside an organization by contract to undertake or produce. [Middle English, from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere, to draw together, make a contract : com-, com- + trahere, to draw.] con·tract'i·bil'i·ty, con·tract'i·ble·ness n., con·tract'i·ble adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
contract
c.1315, from L. contractus, pp. of contrahere "to draw together," metaphorically, "to make a bargain," from com- "together" + trahere "to draw" (see tract (1)). Noun came first, then verb and variant meaning "become narrowed, get smaller," especially of a withered limb (both 17c.). U.S. underworld slang sense of "arrangement to kill someone" first recorded 1940. Contractor in the modern sense is from 1724.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| contract | |
noun | |
| 1. | a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law |
| 2. | (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make |
| 3. | a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid |
verb | |
| 1. | enter into a contractual arrangement |
| 2. | engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season" [syn: sign] |
| 3. | squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle" [syn: compress] |
| 4. | be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill" |
| 5. | become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank" [syn: shrink] [ant: expand, stretch] |
| 6. | make smaller; "The heat contracted the woollen garment" |
| 7. | compress or concentrate; "Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan" [syn: condense] |
| 8. | make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed" [syn: narrow] [ant: widen] |
| 9. | reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" [syn: abridge] [ant: dilate] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
contract1 [kənˈtrӕkt] verb
to make or become smaller, less, shorter, tighter etc
Example: Metals expand when heated and contract when cooled; `I am' is often contracted to `I'm'; Muscles contract.
contract2 [kənˈtrӕkt] verbExample: Metals expand when heated and contract when cooled; `I am' is often contracted to `I'm'; Muscles contract.
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American ˈkontrakt to promise legally in writing
Example: They contracted to supply us with cable.
contract3 [kənˈtrӕkt] verbExample: They contracted to supply us with cable.
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to become infected with (a disease)
Example: He contracted malaria.
contract4 [kənˈtrӕkt] verbExample: He contracted malaria.
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to promise (in marriage)
contract [kənˈtrӕktˈkontrӕkt] noun
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a legal written agreement
Example: He has a four-year contract (of employment) with us; The firm won a contract for three new aircraft.
See also: contraction, contractorExample: He has a four-year contract (of employment) with us; The firm won a contract for three new aircraft.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
contract
A legally binding agreement between two or more parties.
[Chapter:] Business and Economics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
contract con·tract (kən-trākt', kŏn'trākt')
v. con·tract·ed, con·tract·ing, con·tracts
- To reduce in size by drawing together.
- To become reduced in size by or as if by being drawn together, as the pupil of the eye.
- To acquire or incur by contagion or infection.
| The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
Main Entry: con·tract
Pronunciation: k&n-'trakt also 'kän-"trakt
Function: transitive verb
1 : to become affected with<contract pneumonia>
2 : to reduce to smaller size by or as if by squeezing or drawing together <contract a muscle> contract intransitivesenses
: to draw together so as to become diminished in size; also : to shorten and broaden
—con·tract·ible /k&n-'trak-t&-b&l, 'kän-"/ adjective
| Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
contract
- In futures trading, an agreement between two parties to make and take delivery of a specified commodity on a given date at a predetermined location.
- In optionstrading, an agreement by the writer either to buy (if a put) or to sell (if a call) a given asset at a predetermined price until a certain date. The holder of the option is under no obligation toact.
| Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott. Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
Contract
Con*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Contracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Contracting.] [L. contractus, p. p. of contrahere to contract; con- + trahere to draw: cf. F. contracter. See Trace, and cf. Contract, n.]1. To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action. In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties. --Dr. H. More. 2. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit. Thou didst contract and purse thy brow. --Shak. 3. To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease. Each from each contract new strength and light. --Pope. Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high station. --Swift. 4. To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for. We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and lague with the aforesaid queen. --Hakluyt. Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by law. --Strype. 5. To betroth; to affiance. The truth is, she and I, long since contracted, Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us. --Shak. 6. (Gram.) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one. Syn: To shorten; abridge; epitomize; narrow; lessen; condense; reduce; confine; incur; assume.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Contract
Con*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Contracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Contracting.] [L. contractus, p. p. of contrahere to contract; con- + trahere to draw: cf. F. contracter. See Trace, and cf. Contract, n.]1. To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action. In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties. --Dr. H. More. 2. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit. Thou didst contract and purse thy brow. --Shak. 3. To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease. Each from each contract new strength and light. --Pope. Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high station. --Swift. 4. To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for. We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and lague with the aforesaid queen. --Hakluyt. Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by law. --Strype. 5. To betroth; to affiance. The truth is, she and I, long since contracted, Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us. --Shak. 6. (Gram.) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one. Syn: To shorten; abridge; epitomize; narrow; lessen; condense; reduce; confine; incur; assume.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Contract
Con*tract"\, v. i. 1. To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet. Years contracting to a moment. --Wordsworth. 2. To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Contract
Con"tract\, a. Contracted; as, a contract verb. --Goodwin.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Contract
Con*tract"\, a. [L. contractus, p. p.] Contracted; affianced; betrothed. [Obs.] --Shak.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
contract
contract: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
| On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB |
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