contingency

[kuhn-tin-juhn-see]

noun

plural

contingencies 

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.

contingency

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of contingency¹

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

Example Sentences

He said: "There has been no contingency button ready to go, we're just working with them proactively on trying to fix the gaps."

Read more on BBC

She said contingency plans which had been prepared would mean connections were "swiftly reinstated", with priority given to routes essential to the provision of medical services.

Read more on BBC

A vocal contingency of fans who pore over recordings of the band’s concerts has long singled out the times she missed notes and sang off key.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

People speak in the language of contingency planning — what do we do “if” and “when” — not “could” this happen.

Read more on Salon

This was laid out in a contingency plan issued the day before the shutdown began.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• emergency 
• eventuality 
• exigency 
• probability