contingency plan
Americannoun
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a course of action to be followed if a preferred plan fails or an existing situation changes.
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a plan or procedure that will take effect if an emergency occurs; emergency plan.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paramount’s board has approved David Ellison’s contingency plan to move headquarters from Hollywood as early as this fall, according to people familiar with the situation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
She’s heard people say that you can’t have a contingency plan for everything — “but yes, yes you can,” she emphasized.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
There was a contingency plan: Three smaller planes carrying specialized teams later made their way to the remote staging area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
“We’ve got a contingency plan for exactly this scenario!”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
