To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action.
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
To betroth; to affiance.
To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet.
To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.
Contracted; as, a contract verb.
Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
The agreement of two or more persons, upon a sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
To lay open by extending; to open wide; to spread out; to diffuse; as, a flower expands its leaves.
To cause the particles or parts of to spread themselves or stand apart, thus increasing bulk without addition of substance; to make to occupy more space; to dilate; to distend; to extend every way; to enlarge; - opposed to contract; as, to expand the chest; heat expands all bodies; to expand the sphere of benevolence.
To state in enlarged form; to develop; as, to expand an equation. See Expansion, 5.
To become widely opened, spread apart, dilated, distended, or enlarged; as, flowers expand in the spring; metals expand by heat; the heart expands with joy.
