contraction

CEFRC1

/kənˈtɹækʃn̩/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A process in which something becomes smaller or shorter.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.

Examples

  • An obstetrician estimates the progress of childbirth by measuring the time between each contraction.

  • "Can't" is a contraction of "can" and "not."

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
4

Also pronounced

  • /kɒn-/
  • /kənˈtɹakʃn̩/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative).

  2. The process of contracting or becoming infected with a disease.

  3. An act of entering into a contract or agreement; specifically, a contract of marriage; a contracting; also (obsolete), a betrothal.

More examples

In context

  • Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.

  • The country’s economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.

  • the contraction of malaria

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

During the cold weather, the metal rod experienced a noticeable blank in length.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

PIE word *ḱóm From Late Middle English contraccioun, contraxion (“spasm, contraction; constriction, shrinking; act of pressing together”), from Old French contraction (modern French contraction), from Latin contractiō(n) (“a drawing together, contraction; abridgement, shortening; dejection, despondency”), from contrahō (“to draw things together, assemble, collect, gather; to enter into a contract”) + -tiō(n) (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results). Contrahō is derived from con- (prefix denoting a bringing together of objects) + trahō (“to drag, pull”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)). By surface analysis, contract + -ion (suffix deno...