I. NOUN USES
/kɒntent/
( contents)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
The contents of a container such as a bottle, box, or room are the things that are inside it.
Empty the contents of the pan into the sieve...
Sandon Hall and its contents will be auctioned by Sotheby’s on October 6.
N-PLURAL : usu with supp , oft N of n
2.
If you refer to the content or contents of something such as a book, speech, or television programme, you are referring to the subject that it deals with, the story that it tells, or the ideas that it expresses.
She is reluctant to discuss the content of the play...
The letter’s contents were not disclosed.
N-UNCOUNT : also N in pl , usu N of n
3.
The contents of a book are its different chapters and sections, usually shown in a list at the beginning of the book.
There is no initial list of contents.
N-PLURAL
4.
The content of something such as an educational course or a programme of action is the elements that it consists of.
Previous students have had nothing but praise for the course content and staff...
N-UNCOUNT : usu with supp , oft N of n
5.
You can use content to refer to the amount or proportion of something that a substance contains.
Sunflower margarine has the same fat content as butter...
N-SING : n N
II. ADJECTIVE AND VERB USES
/kəntent/
( contents, contenting, contented)
Please look at category 4 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
If you are content with something, you are willing to accept it, rather than wanting something more or something better.
I’m perfectly content with the way the campaign has gone...
Not content with rescuing one theatre, Sally Green has taken on another.
ADJ : v-link ADJ , ADJ to-inf , ADJ with n / -ing
2.
If you are content , you are fairly happy or satisfied.
He says his daughter is quite content.
ADJ : v-link ADJ
3.
If you content yourself with something, you accept it and do not try to do or have other things.
He wisely contented himself with his family and his love of nature...
Most manufacturers content themselves with updating existing models.
VERB : V pron-refl with n , V pron-refl with/by -ing
4.
to your heart’s content: see heart