Other Word Forms
- contractedly adverb
- contractedness noun
- uncontracted adjective
- well-contracted adjective
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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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.
Not long after her brother contracted the virus, Asma was also diagnosed with HIV.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Bloom, a San Jose, Calif.-based power generation company, said that an initial 1.2 gigawatts of capacity has been contracted with deployment under way and continuing into next year.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Poetic Kinetics is contracted to display it if requested.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Consumers’ Research also works closely with — and contracted more than $670,000 of work in 2024 to — CRC Advisors.
From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026
Its great green eyes, the pupils contracted to vertical black slits in the sunshine, were staring into his own.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
