- (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.
- (n.) A marriage contract.
- (n.) Something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc.
- (n.) 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.
- (n.) The process of shortening an operation.
- (n.) 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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). contraction. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/contraction/definitions/1991050 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "contraction" http://smartdefine.org/contraction/definitions/1991050 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, contraction, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/contraction/definitions/1991050>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "contraction" 27 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/contraction/definitions/1991050> |