contractionnoun [ U ]
uk/kənˈtræk.ʃən/us/kənˈtræk.ʃən/contraction noun [ U ] (REDUCTION)
the fact of something becoming smaller or shorter:
Cold causes contraction of the metal.
The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.
the fact of becoming less in amount or quantity:
the contraction of economic output
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making smaller or less
- a nip (here) and a tuck (there) idiom
- attenuate
- axe
- bite
- bite into sth
- dive
- drain
- let sth down
- let up
- lower
- make a hole in sth idiom
- miniaturization
- minimize
- shrink
- slash
- step sth down
- strip sth away
- stripped down
- subside
- tail off
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contraction noun [ U ] (MUSCLE)
[ C ] one of the very strong and usually painful movements of the muscles in the womb that help to push the baby out of the mother's body during the process of birth:
She was having regular strong contractions every four minutes.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Obstetrics: birth
- antenatal
- birth defect
- birth rate
- born
- born
- breech
- C-section
- caesarean
- childbirth
- delivery
- give birth idiom
- induce
- maternity ward
- midwifery
- obstetric
- posh
- prenatal
- puerperal
- rooming-in
- section
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contraction noun [ U ] (WORD)
[ C ] a short form of a word or combination of words that is often used instead of the full form in spoken English:
"Won't" is a contraction of "will not".
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: morphology & parts of words
- -athon
- -ative
- -ee
- -ese
- compound
- disyllabic
- est
- ill
- monosyllabic
- monosyllable
- particle
- polysyllabic
- portmanteau word
- prefix
- s
- stem
- syllable
- that'd
- that'll
- that's
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