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contract

When you and someone else have agreed on something and that agreement is both binding and enforceable by law, you have a contract. When you rent an apartment, you and your future landlord sign a rental contract.

You can also use the word in this sense as a verb meaning "to hire." Wouldn't you like to contract someone to clean your room for you? In other verbal uses of contract, place the accent on the second syllable — kun-TRAKT. If you contract a disease, you catch it, but only use this if it's something serious. You catch a cold, but contract malaria. Contract also means "shrink." When the economy contracts, consumers stop buying things, and people lose their jobs, and if you freeze water, it contracts too.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: contract

1	n v	a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law enter into a contractual arrangement
2	v	make or become more narrow or restricted
3	v	be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
4	n	a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: contract

n a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

Types:: show 31 types...; hide 31 types...; adhesion contract, contract of adhesion
a contract that heavily restricts one party while leaving the other free (as some standard form printed contracts); implies inequality in bargaining power; aleatory contract
a contract whose performance by one party depends on the occurrence of an uncertain contingent event (but if it is contingent on the outcome of a wager it is not enforceable); bilateral contract
a contract involving mutual promises (each party is both promisor and promisee); charter
a contract to hire or lease transportation; conditional contract
a contract whose performance depends on a fact or event that affects legal relations; cost-plus contract
a contract in which the contractor is paid his total cost plus a stated percentage of profit; gambling contract
a contract whose performance by one party is contingent on the outcome of a bet; unenforceable by statute in most jurisdictions; lease
a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified time for a specified payment; marriage contract, marriage settlement
a prenuptial agreement or contract; output contract
a contract in which you promise to deliver your entire output to the other party who promises to accept it; insurance, insurance policy, policy
written contract or certificate of insurance; purchase agreement, purchase contract
a contract stating the terms of a purchase; quasi contract
a contract created by law for reasons of justice without any expression of assent; requirements contract
a contract in which you agree to purchase all your requirements of a particular sort from one party; contract under seal, sealed instrument, special contract
a contract that is signed and has the (wax) seal of the signer attached; service contract
a contract for maintenance services; severable contract
a contract which, in the event of a breach by one of the parties, can be considered as several independent agreements expressed in a single instrument; subcontract
a contract assigning to another party some obligations of a prior contract; partnership
a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses; articles of agreement, shipping articles
a contract between crew and captain of a ship; concession, grant
a contract granting the right to operate a subsidiary business; collective agreement, labor agreement, labor contract
contract between labor and management governing wages and benefits and working conditions; employment agreement, employment contract
contract between employer and employee; distribution agreement
a contract governing the marketing of an item of merchandise; licensing agreement
contract giving someone the legal right to use a patent or trademark; acquisition agreement, merger agreement
contract governing the merger of two or more companies; contract of hazard, sale in gross
a sale of a tract of land as a whole without a warranty as to the acreage; indenture
a contract binding one party into the service of another for a specified term; floater, floating policy
an insurance policy covering loss of movable property (e.g. jewelry) regardless of its location; franchise
an authorization to sell a company's goods or services in a particular place; yellow-dog contract
a labor contract (now illegal) whereby the employee agrees not to join a trade union

Type of:: written agreement
a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties

v enter into a contractual arrangement

Synonyms:: undertake

Types:: show 13 types...; hide 13 types...; stipulate
make an oral contract or agreement in the verbal form of question and answer that is necessary to give it legal force; sign
be engaged by a written agreement; condition, qualify, specify, stipulate
specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement; lease, rent
let for money; charter, hire, lease, rent
hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services; undersign
sign at the bottom of (a document); ink
append one's signature to; autograph, inscribe
mark with one's signature; initial
mark with one's initials; countersign
add one's signature to after another's to attest authenticity; execute
sign in the presence of witnesses; endorse, indorse
sign as evidence of legal transfer; provide
determine (what is to happen in certain contingencies), especially by including a proviso condition or stipulation

Type of:: assure, promise
make a promise or commitment

v engage by written agreement

Synonyms:: sign, sign on, sign up

Types:: contract out
assign a job to someone outside one's own business

Type of:: employ, engage, hire
engage or hire for work

v make or become more narrow or restricted

Synonyms:: narrow

Antonyms:: widen
become broader or wider or more extensive

Types:: bottleneck
become narrow, like a bottleneck; taper off
become smaller or less active

Type of:: change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature

v make smaller

“The heat contracted the woollen garment”

Types:: purse, wrinkle
gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker

Type of:: reduce, shrink
reduce in size; reduce physically

v become smaller or draw together

Synonyms:: shrink

Antonyms:: stretch
become longer by being stretched and pulled; expand, spread out
extend in one or more directions; show more antonyms...

Types:: flex
contract

Type of:: decrease, diminish, fall, lessen
decrease in size, extent, or range

v squeeze or press together

“the spasm contracted the muscle”

Synonyms:: compact, compress, constrict, press, squeeze

Types:: show 9 types...; hide 9 types...; choke, strangle
constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing; prim
contract one's lips; astringe
constrict or bind or draw together; strangulate
constrict a hollow organ or vessel so as to stop the flow of blood or air; convulse
contract involuntarily, as in a spasm; convulse
cause to contract; bear down, overbear
contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery; choke, fret, gag
be too tight; rub or press; choke, scrag
wring the neck of

Type of:: tighten
become tight or tighter

v compress or concentrate

Synonyms:: concentrate, condense

: condense
become more compact or concentrated

Type of:: alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

v reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

Synonyms:: abbreviate, abridge, cut, foreshorten, reduce, shorten

: cut, edit, edit out
cut and assemble the components of

Antonyms:: dilate, elaborate, enlarge, expand, expatiate, exposit, expound, flesh out, lucubrate
add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; bowdlerise, bowdlerize, castrate, expurgate, shorten
edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; concentrate, condense, digest
make more concise; capsule, capsulise, capsulize, encapsulate
put in a short or concise form; reduce in volume; telescope
make smaller or shorter

Type of:: decrease, lessen, minify
make smaller

v be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness

Synonyms:: get, take

: catch
contract

Types:: catch
contract; catch cold
come down with a cold

Type of:: come down, sicken
get sick

n a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid

Synonyms:: contract bridge

Types:: no-trump
a version of contract bridge in which no suit is designated as trump for the duration of the hand

Type of:: bridge
any of various card games based on whist for four players

n (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make

Synonyms:: declaration

Type of:: bid, bidding
(bridge) the number of tricks a bridge player is willing to contract to make

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