contract

/kənˈtrækt/ verb

Definition

› [I] ECONOMICS if a market or economy contracts, less money is being earned, spent, or invested in it: contract by 3%/5%, etc. The country’s economy contracted by 2% in the first quarter.

› [I or T] LAW to make a legal agreement with another person or company, for example, to do work for them or to use their services: be contracted to do sth A local architecture firm was contracted to design and plan the new symphony hall.

(Definition of contract verb from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)