Definition Definition

contraction - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'contraction' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Contraction [ n.]
- 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.
- The process of shortening an operation.
- 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.
- Something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc.
- 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.
- A marriage contract.

Meaning of 'contraction' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . contraction [ n]
Meaning (1):
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
Example in sentence:
  • the contraction of a gas on cooling
Meaning (2):
- a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds
Example in sentence:
  • `o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock';
  • `won't' is a contraction of `will not'

Nearby Words:

con con- conacre conarium conation conative conatus concamerate concameration concatenate

See 'contraction' also in:

Dictionary.com Google Translator Wikipedia.com Merriam Webster

Categories

Browse Dictionary