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:
The IDF says five of its soldiers have been killed in combat since the ceasefire and one contractor was killed in an "operational accident".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Its investments include some of the world’s top young companies, including OpenAI, SpaceX and rapidly expanding Southern California defense contractor Anduril.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Don’t miss: ‘Something snapped inside him’: My contractor boyfriend of 2 years dumped me.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Parra, who is 24, interned in Collins’ congressional office in 2024 and worked as a contractor for a Collins-affiliated political action committee until last year.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
When he began working in New Orleans, eleven years earlier, Zeitoun labored for just about every contractor in the city, painting, hanging Sheetrock, tiling—anything they needed—until he was hired by a man named Charlie Saucier.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
During that period, contractors are barred from making donations to elected officials with power over their contracts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
In a leadership position managing over 200 people, many of them contractors, office collections were common as staff churn was frequent.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The $10 million originated in a $67 million Medicaid settlement between Florida and Centene, one of the state’s largest Medicaid contractors.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Private sector targets allegedly included hospitals, universities, telecom providers, power companies, financial institutions and defense contractors.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
After the bicycle, my mom hired contractors she knew through the real-estate business to build her a separate house in the backyard, like a little servants’ quarters, and she moved in there with Isaac.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
