Contract

/ˈkɒntɹækt/ · noun

Meaning

An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement..

Definitions by Sense

1. An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
2. (law) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
3. (law) The document containing such an agreement.
4. (law) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
5. (informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.
6. (bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
7. (obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
8. (obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.

Example Sentences

sign a contract

write up a contract

read a contract

countersign a contract

legally-binding contract

unwritten contract

Marriage is a contract.

British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.

Synonyms for contract

Antonyms for contract

Related Words

Word Forms

• contracts
• contracting
• contracted

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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