Contraction
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈkɒn.tɹæk.ʃən/ stressed; IPA: /kənˈtræk.ʃən/ unstressed
- US IPA: /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
- Rhymes: -ækʃən
Origin
From Old French contraction, from Latin contractiÅ.
Full definition of contraction
Noun
contraction
(plural contractions)- A reversible reduction in size.
- (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.
- (biology) A shortening of a muscle when it is used.
- (medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
- (linguistics) 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.In English didn't, that's, and wanna, the endings -n't, -'s, and -a arose by contraction.
- (English orthography) A word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe, usually resulting from the above process."Don't" is a contraction of "do not."
- (medicine) Contracting a disease.The contraction of AIDS from toilet seats is extremely rare.
- (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
- The acquisition of something, generally negative.Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.
- (medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.