Contraction

How to spell contraction

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce contraction

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does contraction mean?

1. nounThe process of becoming smaller or the act of drawing something together.
2. nounA shortened form of one or more words, often marked by an apostrophe.
3. nounA tightening or shortening of a muscle, especially of the womb during childbirth.

Contraction in a sentence

• The report warned of a sharp contraction in the housing market.

• The word "don't" is a contraction of "do not".

• The midwife timed each contraction as the labour progressed.

• Cold weather causes the contraction of metal in the bridge.

• The style guide asked writers to avoid every contraction in formal documents.

• A muscle contraction in his calf woke him during the night.

Where does contraction come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb contrahere, which combined con- 'together' with trahere 'to draw or pull', so it literally meant 'to draw together'. From that verb came the noun contractio, describing a drawing or shrinking together. English picked the word up in the late 1300s by way of Old French contraction, first using it for the shrinking or shortening of something. The same trahere root, meaning 'to pull', also gives us 'tractor', 'attract', and 'extract', which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the -tract- core intact. Over time the word gained specialist uses: the grammatical sense for a shortened word form and the medical sense for a tightening muscle, especially in childbirth.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• tract (to draw or pull, from Latin trahere)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)