Contraction
[kən'trækʃ(ə)n] or [kən'trækʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope.
(noun.) (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber).
(noun.) a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds; '`won't' is a contraction of `will not''; '`o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock''.
Editor: Rosalie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act or process of contracting, shortening, or shrinking; the state of being contracted; as, contraction of the heart, of the pupil of the eye, or of a tendion; the contraction produced by cold.
(n.) The process of shortening an operation.
(n.) The act of incurring or becoming subject to, as liabilities, obligation, debts, etc.; the process of becoming subject to; as, the contraction of a disease.
(n.) Something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc.
(n.) The shortening of a word, or of two words, by the omission of a letter or letters, or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one; as, ne'er for never; can't for can not; don't for do not; it's for it is.
(n.) A marriage contract.
Typed by Abe
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Shrinking, shrivelling, corrugation, drawing together.[2]. Reduction, shortening, diminution, lessening, abridgment, abbreviation.
Checked by Aida
Examples
- The contraction of the frog's legs may with considerable safety be said to be caused by these mechanical vibrations being transmitted through the conducting wires. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Everything he has done has been aimed at the conservation of energy, the contraction of space, the intensification of culture. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Amount of Expansion and Contraction. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- How long would it take him to do that, using every possible contraction? Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- If the wires were stretched taut in the summer, there would not be sufficient leeway for the contraction which accompanies cold weather, and in winter they would snap. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Stones, gravel and sticks must be removed, otherwise the contraction of the clay and expansion of the stones on burning, produce a weak and crumbling structure. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The dial on the front of the instrument is intended to indicate the exact amount of physical expansion or contraction of the strip. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- We owe the snug fit of metal tires and bands to the expansion and contraction resulting from heating and cooling. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- But his eyes had a faintly ironical contraction. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- There was a pitiful contraction of suffering upon her beautiful brows, although there was no other sign of consciousness remaining. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- Any subsequent expansion or contraction of the strip may readily be noted by further movements of the needle. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Expansion and Contraction. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- A contraction as of anguish altered Mrs. Pryor's features; she wrung her hands; half a groan escaped her lips. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Her name is Lizzie,' said the schoolmaster, with a strong contraction of his whole face. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Mrs Clennam, with a deep contraction of her brows, was looking at him. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- The contractions and expansions set in motion the clockwork which marks the rate of consumption. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- A galvanoscopic frog giving contractions with one cell through two water rheostats was then placed in circuit. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
Typed by Abe