Hyper Dictionary

English Dictionary Computer Dictionary Thesaurus Dream Dictionary Medical Dictionary


Search Dictionary:  

Meaning of CONTRACT

Pronunciation:  [n]'kântrakt, [v]kân'trakt

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [n]  a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid
  2. [n]  a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
  3. [n]  (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
  4. [v]  be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill"
  5. [v]  draw together; "The fabric shrank"
  6. [v]  reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"
  7. [v]  make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed"
  8. [v]  compress or concentrate; "Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan"
  9. [v]  enter into a contractual arrangement
  10. [v]  make smaller; "The garment contracted in the dryer"; "The heat contracted the woollen garment"
  11. [v]  squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the muscle contracted"
  12. [v]  engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season"
 
 Sponsored Links: 
 
 Synonyms: abbreviate, abridge, compact, compress, constrict, contract bridge, cut, declaration, fee, foreshorten, get, narrow, press, reduce, shorten, shrink, sign, sign on, sign up, squeeze, take, undertake
 
 Antonyms: stretch, widen
 
 See Also: acquisition agreement, adhesion contract, aleatory contract, alter, arbitration clause, articles of agreement, assure, astringe, bear down, bid, bidding, bilateral contract, boilerplate, bottleneck, bowdlerise, bowdlerize, bridge, bridge, castrate, change, charter, charter, choke, collective agreement, come down, concentrate, concession, condense, condition, conditional contract, contract of adhesion, contract of hazard, contract out, contract under seal, convulse, cost-plus contract, covenant, decrease, diminish, distribution agreement, employ, employment agreement, employment contract, engage, expurgate, fall, fine print, flex, fret, gag, gambling contract, grant, hire, hire, indenture, insurance, insurance policy, labor agreement, labor contract, lease, lease, lessen, licensing agreement, marriage contract, marriage settlement, merger agreement, minify, narrow down, output contract, overbear, partnership, pin down, policy, prim, promise, purchase agreement, purchase contract, purse, qualify, quasi contract, reduce, rent, requirements contract, sale in gross, scrag, sealed instrument, service contract, severable contract, shipping articles, shrink, sicken, sign, small print, special contract, specialise, specialize, specify, stipulate, strangle, strangulate, subcontract, taper off, tighten, wrinkle, written agreement

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Con*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Contracted}; p. pr.
& vb. n. {Contracting}.] [L. contractus, p. p. of contrahere
to contract; con- + trahere to draw: cf. F. contracter. See
{Trace}, and cf. {Contract}, n.]
1. To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass;
   to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's
   sphere of action.
         In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our
         faculties.                            --Dr. H. More.
2. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
         Thou didst contract and purse thy brow. --Shak.
3. To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a
   habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
         Each from each contract new strength and light.
                                               --Pope.
         Such behavior we contract by having much conversed
         with persons of high station.         --Swift.
4. To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain
   or covenant for.
         We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and
         lague with the aforesaid queen.       --Hakluyt.
         Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within
         the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by
         law.                                  --Strype.
5. To betroth; to affiance.
         The truth is, she and I, long since contracted, Are
         now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us. --Shak.
6. (Gram.) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by
   reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
Syn: To shorten; abridge; epitomize; narrow; lessen;
     condense; reduce; confine; incur; assume.

  2. \Con*tract"\, v. i.
1. To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or
   extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in
   duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts
   when wet.
         Years contracting to a moment.        --Wordsworth.
2. To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain;
   as, to contract for carrying the mail.

  3. \Con"tract\, a.
Contracted; as, a contract verb. --Goodwin.

  4. \Con*tract"\, a. [L. contractus, p. p.]
Contracted; affianced; betrothed. [Obs.] --Shak.

  5. \Con"tract\, n. [L. contractus, fr. contrahere: cf. F.
contrat, formerly also contract.]
1. (Law) The agreement of two or more persons, upon a
   sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain
   from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party
   undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a
   formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
   --Wharton.
2. A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties,
   with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof
   of the obligation.
3. The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
         This is the the night of the contract. --Longwellow.
Syn: Covenant; agreement; compact; stipulation; bargain;
     arrangement; obligation. See {Covenant}.
 
Dream Dictionary
 
 Definition: Dreaming that you are signing a contract, foretells of a rise in prominence and status. A job promotion is expected. Dreaming that you enter into a bad contract means to think twice about committing to a relationship. Carefully examine what you are getting into.
 
Legal Dictionary
 
 Definition: An agreement between two or more persons which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties made either orally or in writing.
 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: abbreviate, abridge, abstract, accept obligation, accord, acquire, affair, affiance, afflict, agree, agree to, agreement, answer for, arrangement, attempt, bag, bang, bar, bargain, bargain for, barricade, batten, batten down, be answerable for, be brought down, be felled, be responsible for, be security for, be seized of, be struck down, be traumatized, become engaged, betroth, bind, binding agreement, bob, boil down, bolt, bond, break out, bring down, bring on, bring upon, business, button, button up, capsulize, capture, cartel, catch, catch cold, cause, choke, choke off, circumscribe, clap, clip, close, close up, coarct, collapse, collective agreement, come by, come down with, come in for, come into, commit, commitment, compact, compress, concentrate, condense, confine, consolidate, consortium, constrict, constringe, contain, contract an engagement, convention, corral, corrugate, covenant, covenant of salt, cover, cramp, crease, crop, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, cut off short, cut short, deal, decline, decrease, derange, derive, develop, dicker, diminish, disorder, do a deal, dock, drag down, draw, draw in, draw together, dwindle, earn, effort, elide, employment contract, engage, engagement, enter into possession, enterprise, epitomize, erupt, fail, fall in with, fall into, fasten, fever, fold, fold up, foreshorten, formal agreement, gain, get, go bail for, go in, go into shock, harvest, have an understanding, incur, indispose, induce, invite, ironclad agreement, key, knit, latch, legal agreement, legal contract, lessen, limit, lock, lock out, lock up, make, make a deal, minify, mow, mutual agreement, narrow, net, nip, obligate, obligation, obtain, occlude, OD, operation, overdose, pact, paction, padlock, plan, plight, plumb, poll, pollard, preengagement, procure, program, project, promise, proposition, protocol, prune, publish the banns, pucker, pucker up, pull down, purse, reap, recap, recapitulate, recognizance, reduce, restrict, retrench, run, run a temperature, sack, scale down, score, seal, seal off, seal up, secure, shake hands on, shave, shear, shorten, shrink, shut, shut the door, shut up, sicken, sink, slam, snap, snape, snub, solidify, squeeze, squeeze shut, stipulate, stipulation, straiten, strangle, strangulate, stunt, succumb to, sum up, summarize, synopsize, take, take ill, take in, take the vows, taper, task, telescope, transaction, treaty, trim, troth, truncate, understanding, undertake, undertaking, union contract, upset, valid contract, venture, verbal agreement, wage contract, weaken, welcome, win, work, wrinkle, zip up, zipper
 

 

 

 

COPYRIGHT © 2000-2003 WEBNOX CORP. HOME | ABOUT HYPERDICTIONARY