noun
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a person or firm that contracts to supply materials or labour, esp for building
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something that contracts, esp a muscle
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law a person who is a party to a contract
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the declarer in bridge
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of contractor
From Late Latin, dating back to 1540–50; see origin at contract, -tor
Explanation
A contractor is someone who is hired to build something. As a contractor at a building site, it is highly recommended you keep your hard hat on at all times. When you think of contractor, you may picture construction sites; however, the word has other meanings as well. Legally, if you sign a contract to perform a specific job then you are what is known as a contractor. When there are not many full-time jobs available for workers, sometimes the only option is to become a freelance contractor, which might mean that you only work part-time or when needed.
Vocabulary lists containing contractor
The Circuit
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Structural Engineering
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -er, -or
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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.
See Examples For:
They said planning approval was secured in 2023 and a contractor appointed, but changes introduced by the Building Safety Act concerning higher-risk buildings meant further approvals were required.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The train is now expected to carry passengers starting Feb. 5, or a month later than its last expected opening date of Jan. 6, the contractor said in its latest monthly progress report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
In a forest grove to the east, a contractor climbed into a mechanical harvester and pivoted its head to grip and fell a tree, strip its branches and cut the trunk into exact lengths.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
This donation, later determined to have actually been sent from the Republic of Congo, where Mildon has many business dealings, went to a Texas defense contractor.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
And if a contractor got big enough, or ambitious enough, he started designing his own patterns and preparing his own fabric.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Powerus is now seeking help from contractors to scale its manufacturing; Velicovich has publicly promised it can build drones in 90 seconds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"Each force has different rules of engagement and different tactics and technology. For example, the contractors have explosive drones," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Can you understand why anyone would be, other than the contractors?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Specialist drainage and containment contractors had been sent to the site and were removing the fuel.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
He’d been in East Anglia with contractors seconded to the army, building coastal defenses, which was why he was so late coming to the hospital.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
