contraction

Plural: contractions

Noun

• (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)
• the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
  • "the contraction of a gas on cooling"
• a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds
  • "`won't' is a contraction of `will not'"
  • "`o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock'"
• the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope
• Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
• An act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative).
• Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
• An act of entering into a contract or agreement; specifically, a contract of marriage; a contracting; also (obsolete), a betrothal.
• Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
• The process of contracting or becoming infected with a disease.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• An abridgement or shortening of writing, etc.; an abstract, a summary; also (uncountable), brevity, conciseness.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• A stage of wound healing during which the wound edges are gradually pulled together.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• A shortening of a muscle during its use; specifically, a strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• A period of economic decline or negative growth.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are reduced or lost, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• Synonym of syncope (“the elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable”).
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• The preimage of the given ideal under the given homomorphism.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• In the English language: a shortened form of a word, often with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe or a diacritical mark.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• A (sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume; a narrowing, a shortening, a shrinking.
• A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
• Senses relating to pulling together or shortening.
• An act of collecting or gathering.

Examples

• "Don’t is a contraction of do not; and ’til is a contraction of until."
• "In the English words didn’t, that’s, and wanna, the endings -n’t, -’s, and -a arose by contraction."
• "Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors."
• "the contraction of malaria"
• "The country’s economic contraction was caused by high oil prices."

Synonyms

acquiring, catching, compression, condensation, epitome, muscle contraction, muscular contraction, syncope

Antonyms

dilatation, dilation, expansion

Related Words

contract, contractable, contractant, contractation, contracted, contractedly, contractedness, contractee, contractible, contractile, contractility, contracting, contractive, contractly, contractor, contractual, contractually, contractural, contracture, contractured, extract, omission, retract, tractile, traction