contractility

[ kon-trak-til-i-tee ]

/ ˌkɒn trækˈtɪl ɪ ti /

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noun

the property, as of muscle or other tissue, of being able to contract, or draw itself together, reducing its dimensions: Improvements in the contractility of the heart can be measured by a number of different methods to determine how much blood the heart pumps with each beat.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of contractility

First recorded in 1710–20; contractil(e) + -ity

Words nearby contractility

contract bridge, contracted, contract furniture, contractile, contractile vacuole, contractility, contraction, contraction joint, contractive, contract labor, contract of employment

How to use contractility in a sentence

Passing, now, to the other side of elasticity—i.e., contractility—can we say as much?
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
The case for emergency contractility, however, is somewhat better than the case for ordinary contractility.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
A second set of cells should form muscle endowed mainly with contractility.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler
It is generally supposed that the upper side of the tendril of Passiflora is devoid of contractility.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

Many forms are motile—some in virtue of fine thread-like flagella, and others through contractility of the protoplasm.
Manual of Surgery|Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles