to contract
101
3.5
- verb
- /ˈkɒntrækt/
- Formal
- After the negotiations, they formally contracted to provide services for three years.
- contract for services
- contract a firm
- contract with a company
Examples
-
When they saw how well she drew, they contracted her to do ethnographically correct illustrations as well.
Fiction book (2001) -
Seventeen states have also contracted with Xerox to administer their electronic benefit transfer systems.
Academic text (2017) -
We contract out most maintenance.
-
- I did what I was contracted to do.
-
This is a photographic firm that contracts to make maps for the US Army.
-
I need to contract your services, Miss Moriarty.
-
You were contracted to deliver Furlong.
-
Promoted or not, he had contracted to serve GBI for five years.
Fiction book (2001) -
While the DIA owned AATIP, much of the work was contracted out into the private sector.
-
Our group has been contracted on behalf of the people of Paldoñia.
Synonyms
548
1.3
To join an activity or service by giving your name
220
4.1
To promise seriously or give something as a guarantee
153
4.2
Agree to do a job and be responsible for it
136
3.4
Agree to join an organization or start working for a company, usually by signing a contract
31
4.0
Make an agreement official by accepting its final terms
11
4.3
Officially agree to something by writing your name on a document
7
2.5
To accept the conditions of a contract or service
1
8.1
To make a formal written promise with another person or group
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Formal
15
6.7
An agreement among people to give up some freedoms for safety and order
- Formal
15
3.6
Failure to do what a contract requires, for example not delivering goods or not paying
- Specialized
7
3.6
A written agreement two people sign before they marry about money and property
- Formal
7
2.7
A written agreement between an employer and an employee that says the job rules and pay
- Formal
6
2.8
An agreement between workers and their employer that says pay, benefits and work rules
- Specialized
6
4.1
Law that deals with agreements and the duties people or businesses have to each other
- Specialized
6
6.2
An agreement to trade things such as oil or shares at a fixed price on a future date
- Formal
3
3.2
A formal offer from an employer to hire someone with specific pay and terms
- Formal
1
3.3
A legal agreement between a buyer and a seller that explains the terms of a sale
- Specialized
1
6.7
A contract that pays a contractor for all costs plus an agreed fee or percentage
- Specialized
1
7.7
An agreement that a buyer must buy all of a product from one supplier
1
6.8
A formal agreement signed and sealed by the people involved, often with a wax seal
- Specialized
1
6.3
An agreement between two people or groups where each promises something to the other
- Formal
1
7.7
A contract where one person promises and the other accepts by doing something
- Formal
1
8.8
A court order that makes someone pay when they unfairly benefit without an agreement
- Specialized
1
8.9
A standard contract that gives one party little power to change the terms and favors the stronger party
- Formal
1
8.8
An agreement with separate parts so one broken part does not cancel the rest
- Formal
1
7.8
An agreement that depends on the result of a bet and cannot be enforced by a court
- Formal
1
9.9
A formal written agreement signed with a special stamp that has stronger force in law
- Formal
An agreement that only starts to have effect if a certain event happens
- Formal
An agreement where one or both sides must act only if an uncertain event happens
- Specialized
An agreement in which a seller must sell all its products to one buyer who has to buy them
How Binding
Surface Forms
Etymology
Contract comes from the parts con- 'together' and tract 'to pull', so imagine people 'pulled together' into one plan. That's why to contract someone or something is to make a formal agreement with them.