Dictionary
1. (
n.) To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action.
2. (n.) To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
3. (n.) To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
4. (n.) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
5. (n.) To betroth; to affiance.
6. (n.) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
7. (v. i.) 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.
8. (v. i.) To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.
9. (a.) Contracted; as, a contract verb.
10. (a.) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
11. (n.) 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.
12. (n.) A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
13. (n.) The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
Thesaurus
ODabbreviateabridgeabstractaccept obligationaccordacquireaffairaffianceafflictagreeagree toagreementanswer forarrangementattemptbagbangbarbargainbargain forbarricadebattenbatten downbe answerable forbe brought downbe felledbe responsible forbe security forbe seized ofbe struck downbe traumatizedbecome engagedbetrothbindbinding agreementbobboil downboltbondbreak outbring downbring onbring uponbusinessbuttonbutton upcapsulizecapturecartelcatchcatch coldcausechokechoke offcircumscribeclapclipcloseclose upcoarctcollapsecollective agreementcome bycome down withcome in forcome intocommitcommitmentcompactcompressconcentratecondenseconfineconsolidateconsortiumconstrictconstringecontaincontract an engagementconventioncorralcorrugatecovenantcovenant of saltcovercrampcreasecropcurtailcutcut backcut downcut off shortcut shortdealdeclinedecreasederangederivedevelopdickerdiminishdisorderdo a dealdockdrag downdrawdraw indraw togetherdwindleearneffortelideemployment contractengageengagemententer into possessionenterpriseepitomizeeruptfailfall in withfall intofastenfeverfoldfold upforeshortenformal agreementgaingetgo bail forgo ingo into shockharvesthave an understandingincurindisposeinduceinviteironclad agreementkeyknitlatchlegal agreementlegal contractlessenlimitlocklock outlock upmakemake a dealminifymowmutual agreementnarrownetnipobligateobligationobtainoccludeoperationoverdosepactpactionpadlockplanplightplumbpollpollardpreengagementprocureprogramprojectpromisepropositionprotocolprunepublish the bannspuckerpucker uppull downpursereaprecaprecapitulaterecognizancereducerestrictretrenchrunrun a temperaturesackscale downscoresealseal offseal upsecureshake hands onshaveshearshortenshrinkshutshut the doorshut upsickensinkslamsnapsnapesnubsolidifysqueezesqueeze shutstipulatestipulationstraitenstranglestrangulatestuntsuccumb tosum upsummarizesynopsizetaketake illtake intake the vowstapertasktelescopetransactiontreatytrimtrothtruncateunderstandingundertakeundertakingunion contractupsetvalid contractventureverbal agreementwage contractweakenwelcomewin