noun Download 🔗Share A reversible reduction in size. Examples : "The muscle contraction during exercise resulted in a temporary reduction in the size of the arm. " physics science Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A period of economic decline or negative growth. Examples : "The recent contraction in the local economy meant fewer jobs were available. " economy business finance Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A shortening of a muscle when it is used. Examples : "The contraction of her bicep muscle allowed her to lift the heavy box. " physiology anatomy body medicine Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth. Examples : "The mother felt a painful contraction, a tightening in her stomach, as labor began. " medicine physiology body sex family Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are lost or reduced, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word. Examples : ""Isn't" is a common example of contraction, where "is not" becomes one shorter word. " linguistics grammar phonetics word language Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share (English orthography) A word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe, usually resulting from the above process. Examples : "The contraction "don't" is a shortened form of "do not." " grammar language linguistics word Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity. Examples : "The contraction "don't" is a shorthand symbol for "do not." " grammar language writing communication Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share The process of contracting a disease. Examples : "the contraction of malaria" medicine disease physiology Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word. Examples : ""The word 'cannot' becomes 'can't' through contraction, where the 'o' is removed." " grammar language phonetics linguistics word Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share The acquisition of something, generally negative. Examples : "Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors." negative business economy Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
noun Download 🔗Share A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together. Examples : "The doctor observed significant contraction of the skin around the cut on her knee, indicating the wound was healing well. " medicine physiology anatomy biology science process Chat with AIVocabulary GamePractice Reading
