contract

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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
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.

Adjective

contract (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
2. (obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kəntrăkt, IPA: /kənˈtɹækt/

Verb

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
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.
4. (transitive) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
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
7. (transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
8. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
9. To betroth; to affiance.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔnˈtrɑkt/
• Hyphenation: con‧tract

Noun

contract n (plural contracten, diminutive contractje n)

1. contract

Noun

contract n (plural contracte)

1. contract

Noun

contract (plural contracts)

1. contract

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɔntrakt/

Noun

contract m (plural contractau)

1. contract
   • Synonym: cytundeb

Mutation