contract

American  

[kon-trakt, kuhn-trakt] / ˈkɒn trækt, kənˈtrækt /

noun

• contracts
  plural

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 an agreement enforceable by law.

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.

6. (in auction or contract bridge)

   1. a commitment by the declarer and their partner to take six tricks plus the number specified by the final bid made.

   2. the final bid that specifies the number of tricks to which players must commit.

   3. the number of tricks to which players are committed, plus six.

7. the formal agreement of marriage; betrothal.

8. Slang. an arrangement for a hired assassin to kill a specific person.

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adjective

1. under an agreement enforceable by law; governed or arranged by special legal agreement.

   As a contract carrier with us, you'll have access to more loads than with any other provider in North America.

verb (used with object)

• contracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• contracted,
  past participle,  past
• contracting
  present participle

1. to draw together; make shorter, thinner, narrower, etc..

   In order to contract a muscle, the opposite muscle group has to be relaxed.

   Synonyms:

   shrink, shrivel, narrow, lessen, shorten, reduce

   Antonyms:

   expand

2. to shorten (a word, phrase, etc.) by combining or omitting some of its elements.

   Contracting “do not” yields “don't.”

3. to get or acquire, as by exposure to something contagious.

   I contracted malaria but didn't recognize the symptoms at first.

4. to incur, as a liability or obligation.

   He was very extravagant at college, and contracted many debts.

5. to settle or establish by agreement.

   Bismarck contracted an alliance with Austria to counteract Russian designs in Eastern Europe.

6. to assign (a job, work, project, etc.) by contract.

   The publisher contracted the artwork.

7. to enter into an agreement with.

   We contracted a freelancer to do the editing.

8. to enter into (friendship, acquaintance, etc.).

9. to betroth.

10. to wrinkle.

    to contract the brows.

verb (used without object)

• contracts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• contracted,
  past participle,  past
• contracting
  present participle

1. to become reduced in length, width, thickness, etc., by drawing together; become smaller.

   The pupils of his eyes contracted in the light.

2. to enter into an agreement.

   We contracted to have the books printed and bound by Willow Press.

verb phrase

1. contract out to hire an outside contractor to produce or do.

idioms

1. put out a contract on, to hire or attempt to hire an assassin to kill (someone).

   The mob put out a contract on the informer.

contract British  

verb

1. to make or become smaller, narrower, shorter, etc

   metals contract as the temperature is reduced

2. 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

3. to draw or be drawn together; coalesce or cause to coalesce

4. (tr) to acquire, incur, or become affected by (a disease, liability, debt, etc)

5. (tr) to shorten (a word or phrase) by the omission of letters or syllables, usually indicated in writing by an apostrophe

6. 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

7. (tr) to wrinkle or draw together (the brow or a muscle)

8. (tr) to arrange (a marriage) for; betroth

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noun

1. a formal agreement between two or more parties

2. a document that states the terms of such an agreement

3. the branch of law treating of contracts

4. marriage considered as a formal agreement

5. See contract bridge

6. bridge

   1. (in the bidding sequence before play) the highest bid, which determines trumps and the number of tricks one side must try to make

   2. the number and suit of these tricks

7. slang

   1. a criminal agreement to kill a particular person in return for an agreed sum of money

   2. ( as modifier )

      a contract killing

contract Cultural  

1. A legally binding agreement between two or more parties.

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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

• contractee
  noun
• contractibility
  noun
• contractibleness
  noun
• postcontract
  noun
• overcontract
  verb (used with object)
• recontract
  verb (used with object)
• contractible
  adjective
• noncontract
  adjective
• contractibly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contracts
  plural

Participles

• contracting
  present
• contracted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• contract
  simple
• contracts
  simple
• have contracted
  perfect
• has contracted
  perfect
• am contracting
  progressive
• are contracting
  progressive
• is contracting
  progressive
• have been contracting
  perfect progressive
• has been contracting
  perfect progressive

Past

• contracted
  simple
• had contracted
  perfect
• was contracting
  progressive
• were contracting
  progressive
• had been contracting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will contract
  simple
• will have contracted
  perfect
• will be contracting
  progressive
• will have been contracting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contract contracts contracted contracting

Enerflex stock rises sharply after it secures a contract to build generators for a data center developer.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The contract is for an initial term of five years and contains two additional option years, the company added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

He could sign the largest contract of any pitcher in major league history this fall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

In the report, AmCham alleged that Castillo, Kyaw and Islam entered and arranged payment for the contract with Mercury without the knowledge and authorization of its board of governors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“How about a ten-week contract at five thousand dollars a week?”

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

That means “persistence is critical,” with a sustained increase in prices more likely to work its way through contracts, inventories and supply chains into consumer prices, they said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Arey would work to implement campus safety plans, support additional academic advising and career education and more “closely examine spending, contracts, program outcomes and administrative costs to ensure resources reach classrooms and directly support students.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Front-month Brent crude for December delivery rose toward $100 a barrel, with the contracts adding 1.4% to $99.36 a barrel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Chivayo was known for his lavish lifestyle, close ties to some African presidents and lucrative government contracts that had repeatedly attracted scrutiny.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The little brunette contracts her brows when she is thinking; but when she talks they are still.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

England are expected to name their squad for the Australia tour, along with their new list of centrally contracted players, next week.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Kate also contracted scabies from Paul and described it as "dreadful".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The defendants ran dubious nonprofits that contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and nongovernment organizations responsible for administering billions of dollars in homeless funds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Private-label products, which are made by contracted manufacturers for retailers that sell them in stores under their own names and logos, are steadily extending their reach into the consumer packaged-goods market.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The phantom’s infinite emptiness expanded and contracted in long, rattly heaves.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

The companies contracting to do the review process receive payments when they reduce costs, which critics have said incentivizes them to deny service.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

However, Chinese chip exports were lifted by soaring prices, with volumes actually contracting by 7.9% last month, said Nguyen Hoang Nam, an economist at Capital Economics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

When they get out, he says, they plan to start a contracting business together.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni said the underlying condition made the infant especially vulnerable to severe illness after contracting measles.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

In an expanding universe in which the density of matter varied slightly from place to place, gravity would have caused the denser regions to slow down their expansion and start contracting.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

Related Words

• arrangement
• bargain
• bond
• commitment
• guarantee
• obligation
• pact
• pledge
• record
• settlement