Dictionary Definition
contraction
Noun
1 (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part
or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber) [syn: muscular
contraction, muscle
contraction]
2 the process or result of becoming smaller or
pressed together; "the contraction of a gas on cooling" [syn:
compression,
condensation]
3 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'"
4 the act of decreasing (something) in size or
volume or quantity or scope [ant: expansion]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
-
- Rhymes: -ækʃən
Noun
- A reversible reduction in size.
- A period of economic decline or negative growth.
- The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.
- A shortening of a muscle when it is used.
- A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
- A shortened word or phrase, with the missing letters
represented by an apostrophe.
- "Don't" is a contraction of "do not."
- Contracting a
disease.
- The contraction of AIDS from toilet seats is extremely rare.
- 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.
- A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.
Translations
reduction in size or activity
- Finnish: taantuma
- German: Verkleinerung, Kontraktion
- Hebrew: התכווצות (hitkavtzut)
- Korean: 단축 (danchuk)
- Norwegian: kontraksjon, forminskning
- Russian: сокращение
- Swedish: minskning, kontraktion
shortening of a muscle when it is used
- Finnish: supistus, lihassupistus
- German: Kontraktion, Zusammenziehen
- Hebrew: התכווצות (hitkavtzut)
- Japanese: 攣縮(れんしゅく, renshuku)
- Korean: 위축 (wichuk)
- Norwegian: kontraksjon, sammentrekning
- Russian: сокращение
- Swedish: kontraktion, sammandragning
painful shortening of the uterine muscles
- Japanese: 陣痛(じんつう, jintsū)
- Norwegian: sammentrekning
- Russian: сокращение
- Swedish: sammandragning
shortened word or phrase
- Korean: 단축어 (danchugeo)
- Norwegian: sammentrekning
- Russian: сокращение
- Swedish: sammandragning
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
Extensive Definition
Contraction may refer to:
- Contraction (childbirth), a contraction during childbirth (basically referring to muscle contraction)
- Contraction (grammar), a word formed from two or more individual words.
- Syncope, the loss or reduction of sounds within a word.
- Braille contraction, used to decrease space and increase reading speed
- Economic contraction, a reversal of economic growth; the opposite of economic expansion.
- The reverse of thermal expansion
- Contraction mapping, in mathematics, a type of function on a metric space
- Edge contraction or vertex contraction, graph operations used in graph theory
- Muscle contraction, one that occurs when a muscle fiber lengthens or shortens
- Tensor contraction in tensor theory (in mathematics)
- Contraction, a stage in wound healing
- A structural rule in proof theory, see idempotency of entailment
contraction in German: Kontraktion
contraction in Spanish: Contracción
contraction in French: Contraction
contraction in Polish: Kontrakcja
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Speedwriting, abatement, abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, apocope, aposiopesis, attenuation, brachygraphy, clipping, coarctation, constriction, crasis, cutting, dampening, damping, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, depreciation, depression, diminishment, diminution, dying, dying off, elision, ellipsis, extenuation, fade-out,
languishment,
lessening, letup, lowering, miniaturization,
mitigation, narrowing, phonography, pruning, reduction, relaxation, sagging, scaling down, shortening, shorthand, simplicity, stenography, stricture, subtraction, syncope, syneresis, tachygraphy, taper, tapering, truncation, weakening