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contractibly

 - 7 dictionary results

con⋅tract

  [n., adj., and usually for v. 15–17, 21, 22 kon-trakt; otherwise v. kuhn-trakt]
Use contractibly in a Sentence
–noun
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)
a. a commitment by the declarer and his or her partner to take six tricks plus the number specified by the final bid made.
b. the final bid itself.
c. the number of tricks so specified, plus six.
7. the formal agreement of marriage; betrothal.
8. Slang. an arrangement for a hired assassin to kill a specific person.
–adjective
9. under contract; governed or arranged by special contract: a contract carrier.
–verb (used with object)
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.
–verb (used without object)
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.
—Verb phrase
22. contract out, to hire an outside contractor to produce or do.
—Idiom
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

contract

A legally binding agreement between two or more parties.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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Financial Dictionary

contract

  1. 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.

  2. In options trading, 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 to act.


Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: 2contract
Function: transitive verb
1 : to undertake or establish by a contract
2 : to purchase (as goods or services) on a contract basis —often used with out intransitive verb : to make a contract
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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 contracts in tetanus> —con·tract·ibil·i·ty /k&n-"trak-t&-'bil-&t-E, "kän-/ noun plural -ties
—con·tract·ible /k&n-'trak-t&-b&l, 'kän-"/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

contract con·tract (kən-trākt', kŏn'trākt')
v. con·tract·ed, con·tract·ing, con·tracts

  1. To reduce in size by drawing together.

  2. To become reduced in size by or as if by being drawn together, as the pupil of the eye.

  3. 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.
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