contraction
/kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.46 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
Archaic; Countable; Uncountable
noun
Senses relating to becoming involved with or entering into, especially entering into a contract.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors."
- "the contraction of malaria"
- "Railway workers were therefore a perfect subject for research, given the varied roles they undertook. If infection was greatest among the non-public-facing staff, it would suggest – given most worked outside – that contraction was caused by something found in the "atmosphere at large". If affliction was higher among the indoor and public-facing staff, it would suggest that human contact was the cause. And it was the latter point that was proven."
- "Though occasionally a “flatliner” can be revived with a defib, it is most commonly used to change the uncoordinated contractions of the heart (fibrillation) into a normal sinus rhythm—that is, to defibrillate the heart."
- "The country’s economic contraction was caused by high oil prices."
- "In the English words didn’t, that’s, and wanna, the endings -n’t, -’s, and -a arose by contraction."
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From Late Middle English contraccioun, contraxion (“spasm, contraction; constriction, shrinking; act of pressing together”), from Old French contraction (modern French contraction), from Latin contractiō(n) (“a drawing together, contraction; abridgement, shortening; dejection, despondency”), from contrahō (“to draw things together, assemble, collect, gather; to enter into a contract”) + -tiō(n) (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results). Contrahō is derived from con- (prefix denoting a bringing together of objects) + trahō (“to drag, pull”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)). By surface analysis, contract + -ion (suffix denoting actions or processes, or their results).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *dʰregʰ-, contraccioun, contraction, contractiō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/
- British English: /kənˈtɹækʃn̩/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
aftercontraction
anticontraction
cocontraction
contractional
contractionary
contractionism
contractionist
contractionless
decontraction
hypercontraction
intercontraction
noncontraction