contractor

American  

[kon-trak-ter, kuhn-trak-ter] / ˈkɒn træk tər, kənˈtræk tər /

noun

contractors plural

1. a person who contracts to furnish supplies or perform work at a certain price or rate.

2. something that contracts, especially a muscle.

3. Bridge. the player or team who makes the final bid.

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contractor British  

/ kənˈtræk-, ˈkɒntræktə /

noun

1. a person or firm that contracts to supply materials or labour, esp for building

2. something that contracts, esp a muscle

3. law a person who is a party to a contract

4. the declarer in bridge

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• contractors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of contractor

From Late Latin, dating back to 1540–50; see origin at contract, -tor

Explanation

A contractor is someone who is hired to build something. As a contractor at a building site, it is highly recommended you keep your hard hat on at all times. When you think of contractor, you may picture construction sites; however, the word has other meanings as well. Legally, if you sign a contract to perform a specific job then you are what is known as a contractor. When there are not many full-time jobs available for workers, sometimes the only option is to become a freelance contractor, which might mean that you only work part-time or when needed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contractor contractors

He had spent more than a decade remodeling homes as a general contractor and also had experience in metal fabrication from a job building race cars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

The UK has been too complacent about the risk of foreign attack, the boss of Europe's biggest defence contractor BAE Systems has warned.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

In the last quarter of 2025, work stopped on more than 5,000 homes at some 50 development sites, often because the building contractor went bust.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Her husband is a government contractor who travels often, which means childcare is always part of the equation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Meanwhile, work on the hospital did not progress smoothly; twice the contractor was changed, and each man in turn appointed new foremen, and these brought their own labourers.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Cornell suspended her for disrupting a career fair that included defense contractors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

"Even still, the president has urged our defence contractors to constantly produce more made-in-America weapons, which are the best in the world," the spokesperson added.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The excerpts come from Cooper’s March 19, 2025, deposition, which surfaced last month in a court filing by attorneys representing Drakeo’s family in a civil lawsuit against festival organizers and security contractors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

So far this year, the largest U.S. defense contractors as a group haven’t performed very well.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Accordingly, Langley centralized its computing operations into a group named the Analysis and Computation Division, created to service all the center’s research operations, as well as to provide computing to outside contractors.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly