contract

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Informal · Slang

n. an informal word for an agreement to pay someone to kill another person.

n. an arrangement or order given to a hired assassin to murder a specific target.

“In the movie, the villain puts out a contract on the hero.”

“The detective suspected that the victim had been targeted by a professional hitman following a high-stakes contract.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Science

v. to become shorter, tighter, or smaller.

v. to undergo a reduction in size, volume, or length; often used of muscles or materials.

“Metals usually contract when they get cold and expand when they get hot.”

“The heart muscle must contract and relax in a steady rhythm to pump blood effectively throughout the body.”

C1 · Advanced Medicine Formal

v. to catch a disease or become ill.

v. to acquire or become infected with a disease. Transitive; always takes the illness as a direct object.

“He contracted a rare virus while traveling through the jungle.”

“Public health officials were concerned about how quickly the patients had contracted the infection within the hospital ward.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Computing Technical

v. to make a word shorter by leaving out some letters.

v. to shorten a word or phrase by omitting internal letters, often replaced by an apostrophe in writing.

“In English, we often contract 'do not' to 'don't' when we speak.”

“The author chose to contract several auxiliary verbs to make the dialogue sound more natural and less formal.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal

v. to make a formal agreement to hire someone or do work.

v. to enter into a formal or legally binding agreement to perform work or provide services.

“The city decided to contract a private company to clean the parks.”

“The government intends to contract out the maintenance of the national highway system to reduce administrative overhead.”