Other Word Forms
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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Stories of Ourselves
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Hunting by Stars
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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.
Because the parasitic disease was contracted from contaminated produce out of state, California is not counted as being a part of the current outbreak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The company contracted by the local council to install them and raise some money is baffled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
UK health officials too have warned about the outbreak following recent cases contracted by returning travellers.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
In a contracted media landscape with fewer places to pitch, its odds of landing in front of audiences on a major platform decline even further.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Stoically, Le Gentil packed up his instruments and set off for the nearest port, but en route he contracted dysentery and was laid up for nearly a year.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
