1.
If a company contracts out work, they employ other companies to do it. (BUSINESS)
Firms can ~ work to one another...
When Barclays Bank contracted out its cleaning, the new company was cheaper.
...the trend of contracting services out rather than performing them in-house.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) to n, V P n (not pron), V n P, also V n P to n, V P
2.
If a person or group contracts out of a system or scheme, they formally say that they do not want to take part in it. (BRIT)
Employees can ~ of their employer’s occupational pension scheme.
...a free deal which automatically converts into a pay as-you-go service unless you ~.
PHRASAL VERB: V P of n, V P