| 单词 | contraction |
| 释义 | contraction (once / 1339 pages) 1n 2n 3n A contraction is the act of decreasing the size of something or shortening it, or it can be the process of becoming smaller or compressed. The two most well-known uses of contraction involve muscles and words. A contraction of the muscle tenses it or shortens it, like when you're standing in the mirror flexing and admiring yourself. On the other hand, a contraction can also be two words that are combined, with a few letters often replaced by an apostrophe, like when we change do and not into don't. WORD FAMILYcontraction: contractions+/contract: contractable, contracted, contracting, contraction, contractor, contracts, contractual, contracture, subcontract/contracted: contractedly/contractor: contractors/contractual: contractually/contracture: contractures/subcontract: subcontracted, subcontracting, subcontractor, subcontracts/subcontractor: subcontractors USAGE EXAMPLESAuthors of the report said the slight contraction in overall sales reflected “the weakened state of the global economy”. The Guardian(Dec 26, 2016) Hackam's group is studying how the organ's nerve network coordinates these contractions and how this network might be replicated from stem cells. Nature(Dec 20, 2016) Soccer is just a slangy, 19th-century English contraction of “association football,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Wall Street Journal(Dec 19, 2016) 1 1n the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope Ant|Hyper enlargement, expansion the act of increasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope decrease, diminution, reduction, step-down the act of decreasing or reducing something 2n the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together 2the contraction of a gas on cooling Syn|Hypo|Hyper compression, condensation coarctation, constriction tight or narrow compression shrinkage, shrinking process or result of becoming less or smaller n (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber) 3Syn|Hypo|Hyper muscle contraction, muscular contraction contracture an abnormal and usually permanent contraction of a muscle tetanusa sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulses uterine contractiona rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal Braxton-Hicks contraction, false laborpainless contractions of the muscles of the uterus that continue throughout pregnancy with increasing frequency vaginismusmuscular contraction that causes the vagina to close; usually an anxiety reaction before coitus or pelvic examination shortening act of decreasing in length n a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds `won't' is a contraction of `will not' `o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock' Hyper word a unit of language that native speakers can identify |
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