DictionaryAI

contract

SayKON-trakt/ˈkɑntɹækt//ˈkɒntɹækt/
As a verbkuhn-TRAKT

Pluralcontracts

Verbcontracts, contracting, contracted

13 meanings of contract

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A formal, legally binding agreement between two or more parties, usually in writing, setting out what each will do.

    The two companies drew up a contract for the delivery of parts.

    Each freelancer works under a separate contract for the duration of the project.

    UsageYou sign, draw up or break a contract; people work under contract; a contract with someone for something.

    Similaragreement, deal

  2. 2
    written documentnouncountable
    The written document that sets out the terms of an agreement between the parties.

    The lawyer mailed the signed contract back to both parties.

    He kept a copy of the contract in his desk drawer.

    Similaragreement

    Note

    Lawyers keep the paper and the promise apart. What gets mailed, filed or kept in a drawer is this sense, and the enforceable agreement is what that paper records. Everyday speech blurs the two, because signing a contract means signing the document and entering the agreement in a single act.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The written document can be distinguished from the legally enforceable agreement it records. en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To enter into a formal, binding agreement with someone, or to agree formally to do something.

    The studio contracted several artists for the animation project.

    Hospitals often contract private companies to manage their laundry.

    Usagecontract a firm to do something, or contract with a firm for a service.

    Similarhire, engage, commission, employ, retain

  4. 4
    catch illnessverbtransitive
    To become affected by an illness, whether by catching it or by developing it.

    She contracted malaria while traveling through the region.

    Workers who handle livestock can contract infections from the animals.

    UsageMore formal than catch or get; you contract an illness from someone or something.

    Similarcatch, get, develop, acquire

  5. 5
    verbtransitive or intransitive
    To become or make smaller, shorter, or tighter, or to draw together, as muscles or a frowning brow do.

    Most materials contract as the temperature drops.

    The pupil contracts in bright light to protect the eye.

    UsageThe opposite of expand: metal contracts as it cools, and you can contract a muscle.

    Similarshrink, tighten, narrow, constrict

    Oppositeexpand, dilate, swell

    Note

    Writers stretched it to time and the mind. Wordsworth has 'years contracting to a moment,' and Richard Allestree warned in 1674 that disuse can 'contract and narrow our faculties.'

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Wordsworth wrote 'years contracting to a moment,' using contraction figuratively of time. gutenberg.org
    • The work containing Allestree's warning was first published in 1674. collections.soane.org
    • Allestree wrote that disuse can 'contract and narrow our faculties.' ccel.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of contract apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 6, 9, 11–13

From Middle English, via Old French contract, from the Latin noun contractus, based on contrahere ("to bring together, to conclude a bargain"), formed from con- ("together") plus trahere ("to draw, to pull").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  • The noun passed through Middle English and Old French contract from Latin contractus. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin contractus derives from contrahere, meaning to bring together or conclude a bargain. en.wiktionary.org
  • Contrahere combines con-, meaning together, and trahere, meaning draw or pull. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 3–5, 7–8, 10

Latin contrahere ("to bring together, to conclude a bargain") combined con- ("together") and trahere ("to draw, to pull"). Its past participle contractum gave Middle French contracter and then the Middle English verb. The verb arose after the noun and at first meant only "draw together," and "make a contract with" was a later sense.