contracted 1 of 2

contracted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of contract
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2
3
4
as in agreed
to come to an arrangement as to a course of action the farmer contracted for delivery of the hay by the first of July

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contracted
Verb
Vibrio, a bacteria found in salt and brackish water, is contracted when wounds are exposed to water containing the bacteria or a person eats contaminated raw or undercooked shellfish. — Eva Flowe october 21, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026 Since then, under mounting price competition from wind and solar, loss of subsidies and community opposition, the industry has contracted. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026 Then the tariffs and 51st state mentions began and that number contracted — sharply. — CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026 Two men from France contracted a Florida surrogate and were able to secure parental rights before the boy was even born. — Kimberly Bird, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026 Whenever there’s change, there’s an opportunity for disruption and for margins to be contracted. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 17 Oct. 2026 For its part, NASA contracted with Orbital (today, Northrop Grumman) and SpaceX to fly commercial resupply service missions. — Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2026 The work attracted the attention of Q Studios’ Nick Newhard, who contracted Gray to work on level design for the late ’90s cult classic Blood. — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026 Its subsidiary, Avologi, manufactures many of the red-light therapy devices that customers reported being pressured to buy inside stores contracted with Mazal Group. — Monika Evstatieva, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contracted
Adjective
  • Tesla says the thrusters are powered by compressed air, meaning the car can replenish its thrust capacity on-the-go.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The floor is made from compressed leather scraps produced during the brand’s manufacturing process.
    — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • After all, many a good cause got its start from a spirit of noblesse oblige.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • As transistors got smaller, the channels between them became proportionally narrower, and aluminum’s performance hit a wall.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • But once the dominant slices of the emissions pie have shrunk, other categories with less potential to reduce emissions become important.
    — Scott K. Johnson, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
  • As transistors shrank and chips grew denser, the process called for greater precision.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In Malabo, Bioko’s biggest city, a team of men and women equipped with insecticide sprayers squeezed between low-rise cement buildings on a recent morning, as heavy rain drummed on aluminum roofs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Elevated borrowing rates and refinancing challenges (registration required) have squeezed an already difficult landscape for development financing.
    — Jill Jones, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Target agreed to a $5 million settlement and a ban on using geofencing technology to increase prices.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distilling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago.
    — Michael Kunzelman, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The play is essentially a condensed version of Jaku’s memoir, but there’s one big difference.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The blitz with Jones was an example of Joseph taking advantage of a defensive back’s versatility and athleticism to set the edge in the more condensed real estate of the red zone.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Her singing caught the attention of Abboud Saadi, the bassist for Lebanon’s most famous singer, Fairuz, who invited her to a recording session with Bypass Studio owner Ziad Rahbani.
    — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Following her death, Trail dismembered Loofe’s body to avoid getting caught.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Now the prevalence of malaria is around 7%, and deaths of children under five decreased by 78%.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The definitive study of feedback, Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi’s meta-analysis of 23,663 observations, found that over a third of feedback interventions decreased performance.
    — Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Contracted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contracted. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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