contract
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contract¹
- /ˈkɒntɹækt/ UK
- /ˈkɔntɹakt/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ˈkɑntɹækt/ US
- /ˈkɔntɹækt/ Australia
- /ˈkɒntɹɛkt/ New Zealand
- /ˈkɔntɾakt/ Scotland
- /ˈkɒntɾakt/ Wales
Where it comes from
From Middle English, from Old French contract, from Latin contractus (noun), from contrahere (“to bring together, to bring about, to conclude a bargain”) [from con- (“with, together”) + trahere (“to draw, to pull”)] + -tus (suffix forming nouns from verbs).
noun contracts
- An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement. sign a contract
- A period of work agreed to under a temporary contract. He worked a six-month contract on an oil rig.
- An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
- The document containing such an agreement.
-
A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
Similar: contract law
- An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone. The mafia boss put a contract out on the man who betrayed him.
- The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
adjective
- Contracted; affianced; betrothed. But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel
- Not abstract; concrete. But now in eche kinde of these, there are certaine nombers named Abſtracte: and other called nombers Contracte.
contract²
- /kənˈtɹækt/
Rhymes with -ækt
Where it comes from
From Middle English, from Middle French contracter, from Latin contractum, past participle of contrahere (“to bring together, to bring about, to conclude a bargain”), from con- (“with, together”) + trahere (“to draw, to pull”). The verb developed after the noun, and originally meant only "draw together"; the sense "make a contract with" developed later.
verb contracts · contracting · contracted
- To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen. The snail’s body contracted into its shell.
- To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one. The word “cannot” is often contracted into “can’t”.
- To make an agreement or contract; to covenant. The company contracted with the council to build 200 new houses.
- To enter into a contract with (someone or something). We have just contracted new pest control services.
- To enter into (an agreement) with mutual obligations; to make (an arrangement). We have contracted an inviolable amitie, peace, and league with the aforesaid Queene.
- To bring on; to incur; to acquire. She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.
- To gain or acquire (an illness). At that time, the city [Christiania, now Oslo] was in the grip of a cholera epidemic, and victims were dying at the rate of 60 a day. Bradshaw contracted the disease, and died on September 6 [1853].
- To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit. And didſt contract, and purſe thy brow together, / As if thou then hadſt ſhut vp in thy braine, / Some horrible counſell: […]
- To betroth; to affiance. The truth is, ſhe and I (long ſince contracted) / Are now ſo ſure that nothing can diſſolve vs: […]
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: compact, fee, sign up, undertake, get, sign, take, concentrate, abbreviate, abridge, shorten, constrict, condense, compress, reduce, sign on
Translations
Every language
noun job governed by a specific agreement
| 한국어 | 계약 gyeyak |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 契約 keiyaku |
| हिन्दी | अनुबंध anubandh, संविदा samvidā |
| Kiswahili | kandarasi |
| Русский | контра́кт kontrákt |
noun agreement that is legally binding
| Español | contrato, contracto |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 계약 gyeyak |
| 日本語 | 契約 keiyaku |
| 中文 | 合同 hétóng, 合約 /合约 héyuē, 契約 /契约 qìyuē |
| हिन्दी | संविदा samvidā, ठेका ṭhekā, अनुबंध anubandh |
| Kiswahili | kandarasi |
| Português | contrato |
| Français | contrat |
| Deutsch | Vertrag, Kontrakt, Übereinkommen, Übereinkunft |
| Italiano | contratto |
| Ελληνικά | συμβόλαιο symvólaio |
| Română | contract |
| Русский | контра́кт kontrákt, догово́р dogovór, до́говор dógovor |
| Tiếng Việt | hợp đồng, khế ước |
| العربية | عَقْد ʕaqd, مُعَاهَدَة muʕāhada, مُقَاوَلَة muqāwala |
| עברית | חוֹזֶה khozé |
noun part of legal studies
| 日本語 | 契約法学 keiyaku hōgaku |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | makandarasi |
noun bridge: declarer's undertaking
| Русский | контра́кт kontrákt |
|---|
verb (transitive) draw together; shorten; narrow; lessen
| Español | contraer |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | सिकोड़ना sikoṛnā |
| Français | rétracter |
| Deutsch | zusammenziehen, einengen, verkürzen |
| Italiano | contrarre |
| Русский | сжима́ть sžimátʹ, сжать sžatʹ, сокраща́ть sokraščátʹ, сократи́ть sokratítʹ, су́живаться súživatʹsja, су́зиться súzitʹsja |
verb (intransitive) draw together; shorten; narrow; lessen
| Español | contraerse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 収縮する shūshuku suru |
| 中文 | 收缩 shōusuō, 收縮 /收缩 shōusuō, 收緊 /收紧 shōujǐn |
| हिन्दी | सिकुड़ना sikuṛnā |
| Kiswahili | kandarasi |
| Português | contrair-se |
| Français | se rétracter, se recroqueviller |
| Deutsch | sich zusammenziehen, kontrahieren, schrumpfen, einschrumpfen, sich einengen, sich verkürzen |
| Italiano | contrarsi |
| Русский | сжима́ться sžimátʹsja, сжа́ться sžátʹsja, сокраща́ться sokraščátʹsja, сократи́ться sokratítʹsja |
| עברית | התכווץ hitkavétz |
verb make an agreement or contract
| Español | contratar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 契約する keiyaku suru |
| Deutsch | einen Vertrag schließen, einen Vertrag abschließen, sich vertraglich verpflichten, kontrahieren, schließen, abschließen |
| Italiano | contrattare |
| Română | a incheia un contract cu |
| Русский | заключать договор zaključatʹ dogovor, заключать соглашение zaključatʹ soglašenije |
verb (transitive) gain or acquire (an illness)
| Español | contraer |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 罹る kakaru |
| 中文 | 感染 gǎnrǎn |
| Português | contrair |
| Français | contracter |
| Deutsch | sich infizieren, sich etwas zuziehen, erkranken an, annehmen |
| Italiano | contrarre |
| Русский | подхва́тывать podxvátyvatʹ, подхвати́ть podxvatítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | mắc bệnh |
| עברית | נדבק nidbák |
Talk about this word "contract." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/contract. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. contract. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/contract "contract." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/contract.Cite this
@misc{contract_2026,
title = {contract},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/contract},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
