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

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Etymology

Origin of contingency

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

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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

“Good contingency plans if need be,” McVay said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Stakem said the airport should have better contingency plans in place for such an occurrence.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

In Kyiv, which is home to some three million people, Zelensky has openly criticised Klitschko for the pace of winter contingency planning.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

“If we can’t use our base when we have a contingency, what’s the point of having the base and, frankly, the point of the alliance?” he said on Fox News.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

In the history of science there is no simple solution to the apparently binary choice between radical contingency and predictable evolution.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

When is it time to seek legal advice and put processes in place for all contingencies — for example, what happens if you fall and become incapacitated?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Or more redundancy could have been built into the supply chains, but this would have cost money for contingencies that few took seriously enough to fund.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

"Even though people might think it was under control, you should always have precautions in place, you should always have contingencies in place - and both of those things weren't put in place."

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

But the contingencies cost automakers billions of dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

I'd planned for a million contingencies: Her at home, him at home, both of them at home, and this is the one I knew would be the best scenario for me.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

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Related Words

• emergency
• eventuality
• exigency
• probability

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