contract

Noun

• a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid

• (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make

• a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

Verb

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
  • The manuscript must be shortened
    

• make or become more narrow or restricted
  • The selection was narrowed
    
  • The road narrowed
    

• compress or concentrate
  • Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan
    

• make smaller
  • The heat contracted the woollen garment
    

• become smaller or draw together
  • The fabric shrank
    
  • The balloon shrank
    

• be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
  • He got AIDS
    
  • She came down with pneumonia
    
  • She took a chill
    

• squeeze or press together
  • she compressed her lips
    
  • the spasm contracted the muscle
    

• engage by written agreement
  • They signed two new pitchers for the next season
    

• enter into a contractual arrangement

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  contract bridge , declaration , abridge , foreshorten , abbreviate , shorten , cut , reduce , narrow , condense , concentrate , shrink , take , get , compress , constrict , squeeze , compact , press , sign , sign on , sign up , undertake
• Antonyms: 
  elaborate , lucubrate , expatiate , exposit , enlarge , flesh out , expand , expound , dilate , widen , spread out , stretch