# contract

/ˈkɑnˌtɹækt/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/contract
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. legal agreement

noun · CEFR B1

a formal, written agreement between people or companies that the law protects.

For teachers: a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, usually documented in writing and enforceable by law.

- Before you start the new job, you must sign your employment contract.
- The legal team spent several weeks reviewing the terms of the merger contract to ensure all intellectual property rights were protected.

### 2. hired killing

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal · Slang

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

For teachers: 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.

### 3. to become smaller

verb · CEFR B2

to become shorter, tighter, or smaller.

For teachers: 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.

### 4. to catch an illness

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to catch a disease or become ill.

For teachers: 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.

### 5. to shorten a word

verb · CEFR B2 · Technical

to make a word shorter by leaving out some letters.

For teachers: 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.

### 6. to hire via agreement

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal

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

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- You must sign the contract before you start the job.
- The landlord and the new tenant both signed the rental contract after agreeing on the monthly price.
- Failure to deliver the materials by the specified deadline constitutes a breach of contract, which may result in significant financial penalties as outlined in the original agreement.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.