con·trac·tor

[kon-trak-ter, kuhn-trak-ter]
noun
1.
a person who contracts to furnish supplies or perform work at a certain price or rate.
2.
something that contracts, especially a muscle.
3.
Bridge. the player or team who makes the final bid.

Origin:
1540–50; < Late Latin; see contract, -tor

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To contractor
Collins
World English Dictionary
contractor (ˈkɒntræktə, kənˈtræk-) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a person or firm that contracts to supply materials or labour, esp for building
2.  something that contracts, esp a muscle
3.  law a person who is a party to a contract
4.  the declarer in bridge

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Contractor is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

contractor
1540s, "one who enters into a contract," from L. contractor, noun of action from contrahere; specifically of "one who enters into a contract to provide work, services, or goods" from 1724.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Now he claims to earn his living as a private security contractor.
Contractor licensing, quality control and oversight.
Maybe the new contractor is less reliable, or has poor quality equipment, or is
  a bad match in some other way.
Of course, there's a difference between a program manager's connections to a
  prospective contractor and the director's ties.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT