/ kənˈtrækʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] the process of becoming smaller :
the expansion and contraction of the metal
The sudden contraction of the markets left them with a lot of unwanted stock.
OPP expansion
2.
[ C , U ] a sudden and painful contracting of muscles, especially of the muscles around a woman's womb that happen when she is giving birth to a child :
The contractions started coming every five minutes.
3.
[ C ] ( linguistics ) a short form of a word :
'He's' may be a contraction of 'he is' or 'he has'.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : via Old French from Latin contractio(n-) , from contrahere draw together, from con- together + trahere draw.