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

Brisbane 2032's chief executive has said organisers are making contingency plans "as we would for any venue".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Central Command, told CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” this week that he isn’t concerned at all about shortages of interceptors and that the military is ready for any contingency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

She is at her best, and most incisive, when exploring the contingency of our assumptions that they go together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The report added that the defence department is now working to "streamline procurement processes and production lead times" to address the shortages and "respond rapidly to a contingency".

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

“We’ve got a contingency plan for exactly this scenario!”

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

He is reluctant to resume major combat operations, the officials said, partly because the U.S. wants to reserve dwindling munitions for other contingencies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

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

But there will have to be contingencies in place.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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