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. Director Amer Bisat:

   To put this in context, this will be worse than the contraction that we saw in 2008, it will be worse than the one that people estimate happened during the( 1918) Spanish flu, it won't be as bad as the( 1930s) Global Depression, which is a significantly worse contraction, but it will certainly be the second-worst economic shock that we've seen globally.

2. Hue Frame:

   We think the attacks would be a wake up call for investors, who have failed to price in risk within the price of crude. Although global supply will contract in the near term, the United States has the ability to supply this contraction.

3. Rachel Holt:

   We're definitely in rapid expansion mode, not contraction mode, we believe this is part of the future of how people are going to get around. That is what makes us bullish.

4. Ryan Mauro:

   What we see is that overall global support for Islamist extremist groups is decreasing but the rate of violence within that Islamist pool is increasing as that contraction happens.

5. Gavin Parry:

   Confidence in the U.S. economy is just as important as geopolitical risk when it comes to thinking about risk aversion, and Wal-Mart's slide is significant in that it doesn't bode well for consumer spending in the U.S., it's effect on risk appetite may have been amplified by the fact that U.S. CPI figures due ahead of the weekend are expected by some to show contraction.

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