contingency

American  

[kuhn-tin-juhn-see] / kənˈtɪn dʒən si /

noun

• contingencies
  plural

1. dependence on chance or on the fulfillment of a condition; uncertainty; fortuitousness.

   Nothing was left to contingency.

2. a contingent event; a chance, accident, or possibility conditional on something uncertain.

   He was prepared for every contingency.

   Synonyms:

   predicament, likelihood, emergency

3. something incidental to a thing.

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contingency British  

/ kənˈtɪndʒənsɪ /

noun

1. 1. a possible but not very likely future event or condition; eventuality

   2. ( as modifier )

      a contingency plan

2. something dependent on a possible future event

3. a fact, event, etc, incidental to or dependent on something else

4. 1. modification of the meaning of a main clause by use of a bound clause introduced by a binder such as if, when, though, or since Compare adding

   2. ( as modifier )

      a contingency clause

5. logic

   1. the state of being contingent

   2. a contingent statement

6. dependence on chance; uncertainty

7. statistics

   1. the degree of association between theoretical and observed common frequencies of two graded or classified variables. It is measured by the chi-square test

   2. ( as modifier )

      a contingency table

      the contingency coefficient

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• contingencies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of contingency

First recorded in 1555–65; conting(ent) + -ency

Explanation

If you plan to walk home if the weather is nice, but bring subway fare just in case, then taking the subway is your contingency plan. A contingency is an event you can't be sure will happen or not. The noun contingency describes something that might or might not happen. We use it to describe an event or situation that is a possible outcome but one that's impossible to predict with certainty. A company might have a contingency plan for what to do if something goes wrong with their primary strategy, also known as "plan B." They might even have plans C, D, and E, to prepare for multiple contingencies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contingency contingencies

The breakdown of trade negotiations follows a string of policy changes over the past several months, making it difficult to build contingency plans, companies have told her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The proposal approved Wednesday calls for the five-year-old agreement to be amended to ensure that those contingency funds can be used to cover the city’s costs in the event that other funds aren’t available.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Most retirees fear running out of money, which is why they tend to be conservative investors and spenders, and why they build in so many contingency plans.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

As a result public services in Northern Ireland have been operating with contingency budgets since the start of the financial year in April.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

It lacked the lyrical eloquence and the floating optimism of the Jeffersonian version because it was grounded in the palpable sense of contingency Adams had internalized over his long career.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

But there will have to be contingencies in place.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Here are their Social-Security decision points and the contingencies they need to plan for.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026

The task required the writers to rehearse for months to map out contingencies and shape character arcs.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

That gives buyers negotiating power, and it makes it easier for buyers to include contingencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

All the contingencies we couldn’t anticipate are running through my head as I think of how slender the plan is that we’ve rested all our hopes on.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• emergency
• eventuality
• exigency
• probability