contraction
an act or instance of contracting or the quality or state of being contracted: The contraction of the ship’s metal fastenings and consequent snapping of the wood caused cracking sounds during the cold night.
a shortened form of a word or group of words, with the omitted letters often replaced in written English by an apostrophe, as e'er for ever, isn't for is not, I'd for I would.
Physiology.
the thickening and shortening of a muscle: Myosin is a protein in muscles, working together with actin to produce muscle contraction.
one in an often rhythmic series of such muscular changes, especially in the wall of the uterus during labor: When I got to the hospital, my labor was in full force with only 10 seconds between contractions.
a restriction or withdrawal, as of currency or of funds available as call money.
a decrease in economic and industrial activity (opposed to expansion): The contraction that became the Great Depression began in the United States and spread around the globe.
Origin of contraction
1usage note For contraction
Other words from contraction
- con·trac·tion·al, adjective
- non·con·trac·tion, noun
- o·ver·con·trac·tion, noun
- re·con·trac·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use contraction in a sentence
This is the barest outline of the so-called contractional theory of mountain formation.
British Dictionary definitions for contraction
/ (kənˈtrækʃən) /
an instance of contracting or the state of being contracted
physiol any normal shortening or tensing of an organ or part, esp of a muscle, e.g. during childbirth
pathol any abnormal tightening or shrinking of an organ or part
a shortening of a word or group of words, often marked in written English by an apostrophe: I've come for I have come
Derived forms of contraction
- contractive, adjective
- contractively, adverb
- contractiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for contraction
[ kən-trăk′shən ]
The shortening and thickening of a muscle for the purpose of exerting force on or causing movement of a body part. See more at muscle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for contraction
A word produced by running two or more words together and leaving out some of the letters or sounds. For example, isn't is a contraction of is not.
Notes for contraction
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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