contraction

[kuhn-trak-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of contracting or the quality or state of being contracted.

   The contraction of the ship’s metal fastenings and consequent snapping of the wood caused cracking sounds during the cold night.

2. a shortened form of a word or group of words, with the omitted letters often replaced in written English by an apostrophe, as e'er for ever, isn't for is not, I'd for I would.

3. Physiology.

   1. the thickening and shortening of a muscle.

      Myosin is a protein in muscles, working together with actin to produce muscle contraction.

   2. one in an often rhythmic series of such muscular changes, especially in the wall of the uterus during labor.

      When I got to the hospital, my labor was in full force with only 10 seconds between contractions.

4. a restriction or withdrawal, as of currency or of funds available as call money.

5. a decrease in economic and industrial activity (expansion ).

   The contraction that became the Great Depression began in the United States and spread around the globe.

contraction

/ kənˈtrækʃən /

noun

1. an instance of contracting or the state of being contracted

2. physiol any normal shortening or tensing of an organ or part, esp of a muscle, e.g. during childbirth

3. pathol any abnormal tightening or shrinking of an organ or part

4. a shortening of a word or group of words, often marked in written English by an apostrophe

   I've come for I have come

contraction

1. The shortening and thickening of a muscle for the purpose of exerting force on or causing movement of a body part.

2. See more at muscle

contraction

1. A word produced by running two or more words together and leaving out some of the letters or sounds. For example, isn't is a contraction of is not.

Usage

Contractions such as isn't, couldn't, can't, weren't, he'll, they're occur chiefly, although not exclusively, in informal speech and writing. They are common in personal letters, business letters, journalism, and fiction; they are rare in scientific and scholarly writing. Contractions occur in formal writing mainly as representations of speech.

An apostrophe is generally used in contractions to show where letters or sounds have been left out.

Other Word Forms

• contractional adjective
• noncontraction noun
• overcontraction noun
• recontraction noun
• contractive adjective
• contractiveness noun
• contractively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of contraction¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Old French, from Latin contractiōn-, stem of contractiō, equivalent to contract(us) “drawn together, restricted,” past participle of contrahere + -iōn- noun suffix; contract, -ion

Example Sentences

That would mark a slight improvement but continue signaling a contraction in activity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The reading is the index’s lowest since May 2024, remaining firmly below the 50-mark dividing contraction from expansion in activity—where it has settled for the almost two years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by artificial intelligence and overall uncertainty in the national economy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It entered the Cambridge Dictionary in August alongside "delulu", a contraction of delusional that means "believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to".

Read more on Barron's

Some roles will contract sharply—and those contractions will affect real people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• decrease 
• deflation 
• recession 
• reduction 
• shrinkage