Definitions for contraction
kənˈtræk ʃəncon·trac·tion

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. contraction, muscular contraction, muscle contraction(noun)

   (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)

2. compression, condensation, contraction(noun)

   the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together

   "the contraction of a gas on cooling"

3. contraction(noun)

   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'"

4. contraction(noun)

   the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope

Wiktionary(2.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. contraction(Noun)

   A reversible reduction in size.

   Etymology: From contractio.

2. contraction(Noun)

   A period of economic decline or negative growth.

   The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.

   Etymology: From contractio.

3. contraction(Noun)

   A shortening of a muscle when it is used.

   Etymology: From contractio.

4. contraction(Noun)

   A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.

   Etymology: From contractio.

5. contraction(Noun)

   A shortened word or phrase, with the missing letters represented by an apostrophe.

   Etymology: From contractio.

6. contraction(Noun)

   Contracting a disease.

   The contraction of AIDS from toilet seats is extremely rare.

   Etymology: From contractio.

7. contraction(Noun)

   Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.

   Etymology: From contractio.

8. contraction(Noun)

   The acquisition of something, generally negative.

   Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.

   Etymology: From contractio.

9. contraction(Noun)

   A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

   Etymology: From contractio.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Contraction(noun)

   the act or process of contracting, shortening, or shrinking; the state of being contracted; as, contraction of the heart, of the pupil of the eye, or of a tendion; the contraction produced by cold

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

2. Contraction(noun)

   the process of shortening an operation

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

3. Contraction(noun)

   the act of incurring or becoming subject to, as liabilities, obligation, debts, etc.; the process of becoming subject to; as, the contraction of a disease

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

4. Contraction(noun)

   something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

5. Contraction(noun)

   the shortening of a word, or of two words, by the omission of a letter or letters, or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one; as, ne'er for never; can't for can not; don't for do not; it's for it is

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

6. Contraction(noun)

   a marriage contract

   Etymology: [L. contractio: cf. F. contraction.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Contraction

   A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters. In traditional grammar, contraction can denote the formation of a new word from one word or a group of words, for example, by elision. This often occurs in rendering a common sequence of words or, as in French, in maintaining a flowing sound. In strict analysis, contractions should not be confused with abbreviations or acronyms, with which they share some semantic and phonetic functions, though all three are connoted by the term "abbreviation" in loose parlance. Contraction is also distinguished from clipping, where beginnings and endings are omitted.

How to pronounce contraction?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say contraction in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of contraction in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of contraction in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of contraction in a Sentence

1. James Butterfill:

   We expect miners to continue to cut capex, which raises concerns over their longer term profitability, that's why we think we're nearing the floor in copper... as the cuts in capex will lead to a constriction on supply. Markets have also priced in a big contraction in Chinese consumption, which the data is not supporting.

2. Dale Moore:

   One question would be if this is going to cause a contraction in new R&D or leverage it. We love competition because competition usually means there is... choice.

3. Filomena Simone:

   The movement of the hand is done by the wire. This wire, when activated, they contract. And we are able to exploit this contraction to make the finger move. And we can move each phalanx independently.

4. Olivier Jankovec:

   The trend of decreasing freight traffic is hard to ignore. It reflects weakening economic data and contraction forces at play, not just in Europe but around the world. These will ultimately translate into lower passenger demand, adding to that, volatile oil prices, labour cost pressures and more consolidation should also lead airlines to be more cautious with capacity expansion. So pressures on passenger traffic are likely to come both from the demand and supply sides in 2019.

5. Jeffrey Gundlach:

   The U.S. trade data points to economic contraction.

Images & Illustrations of contraction

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