contract

Everyday

1. noun: A contract is a written or spoken agreement between people or companies that the law can make them keep. tree →
2. verb: To contract means to get smaller or shorter, like a muscle or metal when it cools. tree →
3. verb: To contract an illness means to catch it. tree →
4. verb (formal): To contract someone means to make an agreement for them to do a job. tree →

In the lessons

In science, things contract when they cool and expand when they heat; muscles contract to move bones. In everyday life adults sign contracts for phones, jobs and houses. In stories a contract can be a promise that traps a character. Phrases: sign a contract, break a contract, under contract, contract a disease, contract and expand.

Examples

• My dad signed a contract for the new phone. tree →
• Metal rails contract on cold nights. tree →
• When you lift your arm, the muscle contracts. tree →
• The footballer is under contract with the club for three more seasons. tree →
• Sailors once contracted scurvy from a lack of fruit. tree →
• The council contracted a firm to fix the school roof. tree →
• "Do not" contracts to "don't". tree →
• If you break the contract, you may have to pay money. tree →
• “Well, then,” said the Marionette, “let us make a contract.” tree →

Note

The noun is stressed on the first part (CON-tract); the verb is usually stressed on the second (con-TRACT). Countable noun: a contract, two contracts. Opposite of contract (get smaller) is expand. A contraction is a short form like "can't". In maths problems a contract often states a price or a time to finish a job.