What is the meaning of contracted?

verb

  • Enter into a contractual arrangement.
  • Engage by written agreement.
    • usage: "They signed two new pitchers for the next season"
  • Squeeze or press together.
    • usage: "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle"
  • Be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness.
    • usage: "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill"
  • Become smaller or draw together.
    • usage: "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank"
  • Make smaller.
    • usage: "The heat contracted the woollen garment"
  • Compress or concentrate.
    • usage: "Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan"
  • Make or become more narrow or restricted.
    • usage: "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed"
  • Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements.
    • usage: "The manuscript must be shortened"

adjective

  • Reduced in size or pulled together.
    • usage: "the contracted pupils of her eyes"
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APAWordNet. (2010). contracted. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/contracted/definitions/1171358
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "contracted" http://smartdefine.org/contracted/definitions/1171358 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, contracted, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/contracted/definitions/1171358>.
MLAWordNet. "contracted" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/contracted/definitions/1171358>
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