Phrasal verb
contract out
Definition
phrasal verb. to pay another company or person to do a specific job instead of doing it yourself.
phrasal verb. to delegate a specific task or service to an external provider via a formal agreement; often used in corporate or governmental contexts regarding outsourcing.
Examples
“The city decided to contract out the trash collection.”
“Small businesses often contract out their accounting to save money on full-time staff.”
“The government faced public criticism after it chose to contract out the management of local prisons to a private security firm with a questionable track record.”
Examples
simple
“The city decided to contract out the trash collection.”
contextual
“Small businesses often contract out their accounting to save money on full-time staff.”
complex
“The government faced public criticism after it chose to contract out the management of local prisons to a private security firm with a questionable track record.”
Usage
usually followed by 'to' when mentioning the recipient of the work.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'outsource'; while 'outsource' is the general business trend, 'contract out' focuses on the specific legal or formal act of assigning a task.
Pitfall
They contracted out the work for a local firm.
They contracted out the work to a local firm.
use the preposition 'to' to indicate the person or company receiving the contract.
Phrasal verb
Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
contract + out + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/contract-out