Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contracted
Explanation
Something contracted has shrunk or become smaller. Your pupils tend to be contracted in bright sunlight. Contracted is an adjective that usually describes physical things. If your eyebrows look contracted, they are probably furrowed and scrunched up. If your tummy is contracted, it is probably drawn in and flat. Economies and budgets can also be contracted, if they have undergone the painful process of shrinking. If your belly is contracted, buy a bikini. If your budget is contracted, you are better off not buying anything.
Vocabulary lists containing contracted
"Watership Down" by Richard Adams, Chapter 43-Epilogue
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Stories of Ourselves
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Hunting by Stars
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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.
In the first half of that year, the economy had contracted at a rate of just over 1%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
With batter Pope being a contracted player, Key would have been involved in deciding the Surrey man's availability for the APL.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
In all three cases, the P/E ratio contracted, and the CDS spread widened, but Nvidia appears unscathed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
Public-health leaders expect measles to keep spreading until they reach herd immunity, meaning some 95% of people have either contracted the virus or been vaccinated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
My stomach contracted with uneasiness, certain there would be a fight.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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.
