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contract

/ˈkɑntɹækt/noun, verb

contract is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contract means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contract is contracts.

How many letters and syllables are in contract?

Letters8: C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing87 times per million words; the 1,223rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is contract?

Contract appears 87 times per million words in written English, the 1,223rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce contract?

  • UK /ˈkɒntɹækt/
  • British /ˈkɔntɹakt/
  • US /ˈkɑntɹækt/

As a verb (“To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen”): /kənˈtɹækt/.

Contract has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-contract.ogg, En-uk-contract_(noun).ogg, En-us-contract-noun.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of contract

  • contracts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • contracting participle, present
  • contracted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does contract mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 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.

    sign a contract

  2. 2

    A period of work agreed to under a temporary contract.

    He worked a six-month contract on an oil rig.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    The document containing such an agreement.

  5. 5

    A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.

  6. 6

    informalAn order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.

    The mafia boss put a contract out on the man who betrayed him.

  7. 7

    The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.

verb

  1. 1

    To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.

    The snail’s body contracted into its shell.

  2. 2

    To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.

    The word “cannot” is often contracted into “can’t”.

  3. 3

    To make an agreement or contract; to covenant.

    The company contracted with the council to build 200 new houses.

  4. 4

    To enter into a contract with (someone or something).

    We have just contracted new pest control services.

  5. 5

    archaicTo enter into (an agreement) with mutual obligations; to make (an arrangement).

  6. 6

    To bring on; to incur; to acquire.

    She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.

  7. 7

    To gain or acquire (an illness).

  8. 8

    To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteContracted; affianced; betrothed.

  2. 2

    obsoleteNot abstract; concrete.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate contract?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of contract: K, LOC.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Contract in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcontrat (agreement that is legally binding), rétracter ((transitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…), se rétracter, se recroqueviller ((intransitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…), contracter ((transitive) gain or acquire (an illness))
GermanVertrag, Kontrakt, Übereinkommen, Übereinkunft (agreement that is legally binding), zusammenziehen, einengen ((transitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…)
Portuguesecontrato (agreement that is legally binding), contrair-se ((intransitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…), contrair ((transitive) gain or acquire (an illness))
Spanishcontrato, contracto (agreement that is legally binding), contraer ((transitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…), contraerse ((intransitive) draw together; shorten; narrow…), contratar (make an agreement or contract)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does contract come from?

From Middle English, from Old French contract, from Latin contractus (noun), from contrahere (“to bring together, to bring about, to conclude a bargain”) [from con- (“with, together”) + trahere (“to draw, to pull”)] + -tus (suffix forming nouns from verbs).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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