contract

noun

• a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law:he has just signed a contract keeping him with the club [mass noun]:much of the produce is grown under contract
• [mass noun] the branch of law concerned with the making and observation of contracts: the law of contract
• informal an arrangement for someone to be killed by a hired assassin:smuggling bosses routinely put out contracts on witnesses
• Bridge the declarer’s undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trumps:South can make the contract with correct play
• dated a formal agreement to marry: the contract between the Bride and the Bridegroom was renewed

verb

• 1 [no object] decrease in size, number, or range:glass contracts as it cools
• (of a muscle) become shorter and tighter in order to effect movement of part of the body:the heart contracts about seventy times a minute [with object]:exhale and slowly contract your abdominal muscles
• [with object] shorten (a word or phrase) by combination or elision: these sources were called quasistellar objects, which was soon contracted to quasar

• 2 [no object] enter into a formal and legally binding agreement:the local authority will contract with a wide range of agencies to provide services
• (contract in/into) British choose to be involved in (a scheme):politically committed members contract into paying the levy
• (contract out) British choose to withdraw from or not become involved in a scheme:plans to encourage people to contract out of the pension scheme
• secure specified rights or undertake specified obligations in a formal and legally binding agreement:a buyer may contract for the right to withhold payment [with infinitive]:the paper had contracted to publish extracts from the diaries
• [with object and infinitive] impose an obligation on (someone) to do something by means of a formal agreement:health authorities contract a hospital to treat a specific number of patients
• [with object] (contract something out) arrange for work to be done by another organization: local authorities will have to contract out waste management
• [with object] formally enter into (a marriage): kings obtained dispensations to enable them to contract politically advantageous matches
• [with object] enter into (a friendship or other relationship):the patterns of social relationships contracted by men and women differ

• 3 [with object] catch or develop (a disease or infectious agent):three people contracted a killer virus

• 4 [with object] become liable to pay (a debt):he contracted a debt of £3,300