# contingency

> English word · Noun · IPA /kənˈtɪnd͡ʒənsi/ · frequency rank #16,202

## Definitions
1. The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance.
2. A possibility; something which may or may not happen. A chance occurrence, especially in finance, unexpected expenses.
3. An amount of money which a party to a contract has to pay to the other party (usually the supplier of a major project to the client) if they do not fulfill the contract according to the specification.
4. A statement which is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.

## Etymology
From contingent + -cy (16th century).

## Easily confused with
- **contingent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contingency-vs-contingent)

## Common misspellings (18)
`ccontingency`, `cnotingency`, `conitngency`, `conntingency`, `contignency`, `continegncy`, `contingecny`, `contingenccy`, `contingencyy`, `contingenncy`, `contingenyc`, `continggency`, `contingnecy`, `continngency`, `contnigency`, `conttingency`, `cotningency`, `ocntingency`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/contingency