contract

From Middle English, from Old French contract, 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”).

• enPR: kŏn'trăkt
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒntɹækt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑntɹækt/

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contract (plural contracts)

1. 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.

   Synonyms: compact, pact

   Marriage is a contract.

   sign a contract

   write up a contract

   read a contract

   countersign a contract

   legally-binding contract

   unwritten contract

   • 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.

2. (law) 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.
3. (law) The document containing such an agreement.
4. (law) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
5. (informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.

   The mafia boss put a contract out on the man who betrayed him.

6. (bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.

• (part of legal studies): contract law

• (agreement that is legally binding): agreement

• (agreement that is legally binding): bailment

contract (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 1:

     But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel

2. (obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.
   • 1557, Robert Recorde, The Whetstone of Witte:

     But now in eche kinde of these, there are certaine nombers named Abſtracte: and other called nombers Contracte.

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.

• enPR: kəntrăkt, IPA^(key): /kənˈtɹækt/

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• Rhymes: -ækt

contract (third-person singular simple present contracts, present participle contracting, simple past and past participle contracted)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.

   The snail’s body contracted into its shell.

   to contract one’s sphere of action

   • 1674, [Richard Allestree], “Of Boasting”, in The Government of the Tongue. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Theater, OCLC 1204546880, page 168:

     We ſee in all things how deſuetude do's contract and narrow our faculties, ſo that we may apprehend only thoſe things wherein we are converſant.

   • 1830, William Wordsworth, “The Armenian Lady’s Love”, in Yarrow Revisited, and Other Poems, London: […] Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […]; and Edward Moxon, […], published 1835, OCLC 3894899, stanza 18, page 102:

     Mutual was the sudden transport; / Breathless questions followed fast, / Years contracting to a moment, / Each word greedier than the last; […]

2. (grammar) 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”.

3. (transitive) To enter into a contract with. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
4. (transitive) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
   • 1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], OCLC 753964576:

     We have contracted an inviolable amitie, peace, and league with the aforesaid Queene.

   • 1721, John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials:

     Many persons […] had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity […] prohibited by law.

5. (intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain.

   to contract for carrying the mail

6. (transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.

   She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.

   to contract a debt

   • 1717, Alexander Pope, “To Mr. Jervas, with Fresnoy’s Art of Painting, Translated by Mr. Dryden”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], OCLC 43265629, page 391:

     Smit with the love of Siſter-arts we came, / And met congenial, mingling flame with flame; / Like friendly colours found our arts unite, / Each from each contract new ſtrength and light.

   • a. 1746 (date written)​, Jonathan Swift, “An Essay on the Fates of Clergymen”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], volume V, new edition, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, OCLC 1184656746, page 113:

     This talent of discretion, […] is no where so serviceable as to the clergy, to whose preferment nothing is so fatal as the character of wit, politeness in reading or manners, or that kind of behaviour, which we contract by having too much conversation with persons of high station and eminency; […]

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 1, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, OCLC 2057953:

     A love like mine, Sir, I feel, is contracted once and for ever.

7. (transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
   • 1999, Davidson C. Umeh, Protect Your Life: A Health Handbook for Law Enforcement Professionals, page 69:

     An officer contracted hepatitis B and died after handling the blood-soaked clothing of a homicide victim […]

8. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, OCLC 724111485, [Act III, scene iii], page 45:

     And didſt contract, and purſe thy brow together, / As if thou then hadſt ſhut vp in thy braine, / Some horrible counſell: […]

9. To betroth; to affiance.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v], page 60, column 2:

     The truth is, ſhe and I (long ſince contracted) / Are now ſo ſure that nothing can diſſolve vs: […]

• (lessen): abate, decrease, lessen, reduce
• (shorten): shorten, shrink
• (gain or acquire (an illness)): catch, get

• (lessen): increase, expand
• (shorten): grow, lengthen

From Middle Dutch contract, from Old French contract, from Latin contractum, past participle of contrahō (“to bring together, to bring about, to conclude a bargain”).

• IPA^(key): /kɔnˈtrɑkt/

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• Hyphenation: con‧tract
• Rhymes: -ɑkt

contract n (plural contracten, diminutive contractje n)

1. contract

• overeenkomst

• Afrikaans: kontrak
• Negerhollands: kontragt
• → Caribbean Hindustani: kantrák
• → Caribbean Javanese: kontrak
• → Indonesian: kontrak
• → Papiamentu: kontrakt
• → West Frisian: kontrakt

From French contrat, from Latin contractus.

contract n (plural contracte)

1. contract

From English contract.

contract (plural contracts)

1. contract

From English contract.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔntrakt/

contract m (plural contractau)

1. contract

   Synonym: cytundeb

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “contract”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies