Cambridge Dictionaries online Cambridge Dictionaries online

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English

  

contraction

 
 
/kənˈtrækʃən/ noun

Definition

MUSCLE [C] a strong, painful movement of the muscles that a woman has when she is having a baby: She was having contractions every ten minutes.
WORD [C] a short form of a word or group of words: 'Won't' is a contraction of 'will not'.
REDUCTION [U] when something becomes smaller or shorter
(Definition of contraction noun from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“contraction” in other dictionaries

Word of the Day

everything under the sun

everything that exists or is possible

Word of the Day

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.

Learn More