CONTRACTS Synonyms: 150 Similar and Opposite Words

contracts 1 of 2

noun

plural of contract

as in guarantees

a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation accused her of breaking their contract by not completing the decorating job on budget

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Relevance

as in agreements

an arrangement about action to be taken a contract outlining what needed to be done by each person

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contracts

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of contract

as in gets

to become affected with (a disease or disorder) before vaccines were invented, people lived in fear of contracting polio

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as in shrinks

to become smaller in size or volume through the drawing together of particles of matter metal contracts at low temperatures

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as in compresses

to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together contract the calf muscles in your legs

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as in covenants

to come to an arrangement as to a course of action the farmer contracted for delivery of the hay by the first of July

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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 contracts

Noun

Last year, Linde announced two new long-term supply contracts with space customers and investments to boost production capacity. —

Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 9 May 2026 Ogwumike is the president of the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association, which recently negotiated a historic collective bargaining agreement, highlighted by the first multi-million-dollar contracts in league history. —

John Davis, Daily News, 9 May 2026 Hardship contracts last a week and expire once a team has 10 available players. —

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026 Fire engines are typically staffed by three personnel, who commonly work 24-hour shifts, and are supervised by a fire captain, according to Cal Fire cooperative contracts. —

Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026 That’s why Uthmeier has also sought to dismantle government programs and offices that merely collect data that might show whether minorities are being unfairly shut out of things like government contracts. —

Scott Maxwell, Sun Sentinel, 9 May 2026 Hardship contracts can be renewed up to three times before a team must either sign the player to a rest-of-season contract or release them. —

Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026 Kirill Kaprizov pushed the artificial ceiling on contracts to $17 million per year. —

Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 9 May 2026 Spilka said that both the Senate and the House provide the auditor with financial information every year, and that the public can find procurements, contracts, expenditures and salaries on the state Comptroller’s website. —

Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026

Verb

This music expands and contracts time. —

Liza Lentini, SPIN, 1 May 2026 The grass on the field now will not be what the players use come June, which will instead come from a specific grass farm in Colorado that contracts with FIFA. —

Irene Wright, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026 An additional $10 million is going to canine security guard staffing, for which the CTA contracts privately. —

Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026 The city contracts with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. —

Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026 An aging society, combined with the sorry state of hospitals, means that the overall number of deaths keeps rising even as the population contracts. —

Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026 Parents or caretakers of any unvaccinated child who contracts the virus are advised to make sure the child has lots of fluids. —

Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026 Gang violence gripping Port-au-Prince disrupts aid delivery and goods transportation, leaving families in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country with impossible survival choices as the economy contracts for the seventh year. —

Evens Sanon, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026 While the city contracts with about 20 non-governmental organizations for homeless services and even more subcontractors, Mitchell contended the city applies few or no performance metrics to them. —

Steven Mihailovich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contracts

Noun

European film professionals want guarantees that funding for cinema is locked into the AgoraEU budget, and not diverted to other projects or industries.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
At this point, those agitating against the merger might see their most realistic option being to lobby for conditions on the merger, such as job-protection guarantees or production minimums.

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 8 May 2026