contract
Americannoun
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an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified.
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an agreement enforceable by law.
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the written form of an agreement enforceable by law.
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the division of law dealing with contracts.
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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.
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(in auction or contract bridge)
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a commitment by the declarer and their partner to take six tricks plus the number specified by the final bid made.
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the final bid that specifies the number of tricks to which players must commit.
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the number of tricks to which players are committed, plus six.
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the formal agreement of marriage; betrothal.
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Slang. an arrangement for a hired assassin to kill a specific person.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to draw together; make shorter, thinner, narrower, etc..
In order to contract a muscle, the opposite muscle group has to be relaxed.
- Antonyms:
- expand
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to shorten (a word, phrase, etc.) by combining or omitting some of its elements.
Contracting “do not” yields “don't.”
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to get or acquire, as by exposure to something contagious.
I contracted malaria but didn't recognize the symptoms at first.
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to incur, as a liability or obligation.
He was very extravagant at college, and contracted many debts.
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to settle or establish by agreement.
Bismarck contracted an alliance with Austria to counteract Russian designs in Eastern Europe.
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to assign (a job, work, project, etc.) by contract.
The publisher contracted the artwork.
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to enter into an agreement with.
We contracted a freelancer to do the editing.
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to enter into (friendship, acquaintance, etc.).
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to betroth.
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to wrinkle.
to contract the brows.
verb (used without object)
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to become reduced in length, width, thickness, etc., by drawing together; become smaller.
The pupils of his eyes contracted in the light.
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to enter into an agreement.
We contracted to have the books printed and bound by Willow Press.
verb phrase
idioms
verb
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to make or become smaller, narrower, shorter, etc
metals contract as the temperature is reduced
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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
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to draw or be drawn together; coalesce or cause to coalesce
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(tr) to acquire, incur, or become affected by (a disease, liability, debt, etc)
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(tr) to shorten (a word or phrase) by the omission of letters or syllables, usually indicated in writing by an apostrophe
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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
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(tr) to wrinkle or draw together (the brow or a muscle)
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(tr) to arrange (a marriage) for; betroth
noun
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a formal agreement between two or more parties
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a document that states the terms of such an agreement
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the branch of law treating of contracts
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marriage considered as a formal agreement
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See contract bridge
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bridge
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(in the bidding sequence before play) the highest bid, which determines trumps and the number of tricks one side must try to make
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the number and suit of these tricks
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slang
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a criminal agreement to kill a particular person in return for an agreed sum of money
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( as modifier )
a contract killing
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Synonym Usage
See agreement. 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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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contracteenoun
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contractibilitynoun
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contractiblenessnoun
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postcontractnoun
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overcontractverb (used with object)
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recontractverb (used with object)
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contractibleadjective
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noncontractadjective
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contractiblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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contractsimple
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contractssimple
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have contractedperfect
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has contractedperfect
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am contractingprogressive
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are contractingprogressive
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is contractingprogressive
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have been contractingperfect progressive
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has been contractingperfect progressive
Past
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contractedsimple
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had contractedperfect
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was contractingprogressive
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were contractingprogressive
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had been contractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contract
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun contract, contrait, from Old French, from Latin contractus “undertaking a transaction, agreement” (equivalent to contrac-, stem of contrahere “to draw in, bring together, enter into an agreement” + -tus verbal noun suffix); the verb is from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere
Explanation
When you and someone else have agreed on something and that agreement is both binding and enforceable by law, you have a contract. When you rent an apartment, you and your future landlord sign a rental contract. You can also use the word in this sense as a verb meaning "to hire." Wouldn't you like to contract someone to clean your room for you? In other verbal uses of contract, place the accent on the second syllable — kun-TRAKT. If you contract a disease, you catch it, but only use this if it's something serious. You catch a cold, but contract malaria. Contract also means "shrink." When the economy contracts, consumers stop buying things, and people lose their jobs.
Vocabulary lists containing contract
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Philippine container terminal operator’s 26-year extension of its terminal contract in Melbourne secures its long-term earnings visibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Under A Step to Freedom’s contract with the Department of Health Services, the nonprofit is obligated to provide residents with a minimum of three nutritious meals per day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Casemiro announced in January that he would depart Old Trafford at the end of the 2026-27 season following a mutual decision not to renew his contract.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
World oil prices jumped with the benchmark international contract Brent North Sea crude surpassing $95 for the first time in nearly six weeks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
But by pouring more mercury into the long arm of the tube, the pressure could be increased, forcing the air in the short arm to contract.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
If two clubs transfer players in the same window after the 45 days have elapsed they could still be considered as swaps if there is anything in the contracts to connect them.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
"He's introducing contracts so that mobilised soldiers at least know how long they'll have to serve," the soldier told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Singapore-listed shipbuilder is forecast to deliver robust revenue growth as it is expected to deliver contracts from 2023 and the most of 2024, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Cutting off exports isn’t feasible due to the tens of billions of dollars in project financing and contracts linked to LNG projects, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Other women’s rights legislation followed: Wyoming women were soon given the right to sue and be sued, to serve on juries, and to enter contracts.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
PulteGroup’s home sales margin contracted to 25% from 27% in the year-earlier quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The company reported $29 billion in remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted business yet to be recognized as revenue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Cyclospora cayetanensis, often referred to as just Cyclospora, has caused an ongoing and widespread outbreak of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness that’s typically contracted by eating or drinking feces-tainted fresh produce or water.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Her paternal grandmother, Anita, was less fortunate; she contracted COVID-19 from a home healthcare aide and died in a hospital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Of those women who were infected with AIDS, many had contracted the disease in Port-au-Prince.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
None of those justifications appear to apply here, according to contracting experts and former staffers consulted by ProPublica.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
However, without a confirmed source or a resolution in sight, consumers have to make their own choices about how to avoid contracting Cyclospora cayetanensis — a parasite that causes explosive diarrhea, among other gastrointestinal symptoms.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Manning's earlier research has explored whether digit ratio can provide information about alcohol consumption, outcomes after contracting COVID-19, and oxygen consumption in footballers.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
“However, a 7% year-over-year increase in resale contracts during the quarter points to a meaningful acceleration in contracting activity over late May and June,” Forsyth Barr says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
This idea is attractive because it would mean a nice symmetry between the expanding and contracting phases.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.