to contract
52
3.0
- verb
- /kənˈtrækt/
:
contraerse
- Not only has the wine market contracted, but it has also changed in composition.
- expand and contract
- muscles contract
- economy contracted
We're going to be seeing contracting GDP for years.
- We're going to be seeing contracting GDP for years.
- So the arms and the legs sort of contract like this.
- Learn to dilate and contract your visual field consciously.
- And then also potassium helps your muscles contract optimally and strongly.
- So we're still in contraction, but we're contracting less than we thought we would be.
- And since muscles use oxygen to contract, it's very important to be relaxed.
- And essentially you wind up with scar that doesn't contract normal muscle contracts.
- What was that grace consciousness expanding and contracting a Sparrow beneath my chair?
Examples
-
Everything expands and contracts because of heat.
-
As the temperature drops, metals tend to contract, making them tighter within their fittings.
-
Things do contract in the cold.
-
So the arms and the legs sort of contract like this.
-
Her brain has begun to contract.
-
And since muscles use oxygen to contract, it's very important to be relaxed.
-
Professional musicians returning from the war found a seriously contracted market for live performance.
Academic text (2015) -
That's what allows the heart to expand and contract as it's beating.
-
Every year, the average adult in the United States contracts two to three upper respiratory tract infections.
Academic text (1995) -
Argentina defaulted on its $132 billion public debt, and its economy contracted by 10 percent in real terms in 2002.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
∞
2.3
To remove parts or make something shorter, for example text
325
2.0
To make something smaller in amount or size
181
2.8
Become less in amount or value
94
3.7
To press something so it takes less space
71
2.8
To make something simpler by cutting out details
65
2.1
Become less wide or make something less wide
45
2.3
Make something shorter, for example an article, skirt, or route
30
5.6
To become tighter because of pressure or shrinking
19
4.2
Turn from a gas into a liquid when cooled
11
4.4
To press something so it becomes smaller and takes less space
9
3.6
To make something shorter while keeping the important parts
Make a book, play, or speech shorter by removing parts while keeping the main idea
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Formal
14
6.7
An agreement among people to give up some freedoms for safety and order
- Formal
12
3.6
Failure to do what a contract requires, for example not delivering goods or not paying
- Formal
5
2.7
A written agreement between an employer and an employee that says the job rules and pay
- Formal
5
2.8
An agreement between workers and their employer that says pay, benefits and work rules
- Specialized
5
3.6
A written agreement two people sign before they marry about money and property
- Formal
3
3.2
A formal offer from an employer to hire someone with specific pay and terms
- Specialized
3
4.1
Law that deals with agreements and the duties people or businesses have to each other
- Specialized
3
6.2
An agreement to trade things such as oil or shares at a fixed price on a future date
- Specialized
1
6.7
A contract that pays a contractor for all costs plus an agreed fee or percentage
- Formal
1
3.3
A legal agreement between a buyer and a seller that explains the terms of a sale
- Specialized
An agreement between two people or groups where each promises something to the other
- Formal
An agreement that only starts to have effect if a certain event happens
- Specialized
A standard contract that gives one party little power to change the terms and favors the stronger party
- Formal
A formal written agreement signed with a special stamp that has stronger force in law
- Formal
An agreement where one or both sides must act only if an uncertain event happens
- Formal
An agreement that depends on the result of a bet and cannot be enforced by a court
- Formal
A court order that makes someone pay when they unfairly benefit without an agreement
- Specialized
An agreement that a buyer must buy all of a product from one supplier
- Specialized
An agreement in which a seller must sell all its products to one buyer who has to buy them
- Formal
An agreement with separate parts so one broken part does not cancel the rest
A formal agreement signed and sealed by the people involved, often with a wax seal
- Formal
A contract where one person promises and the other accepts by doing something
How Small
Surface Forms
Etymology
Contract comes from the Latin parts con- 'together' and tract 'to pull', the same root you see in tractor. So to contract and become smaller is like being 'pulled together' into a tighter, smaller shape.