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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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

Oak Park and Evanston have decided to end their Flock contracts. — Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026 Mayor Castillo told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that any financial implications for residents and whether the city will terminate its current contracts remain unclear. — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026 Winston and Runyan had both been entering the final year of their contracts but are now set to remain with the Giants through the 2028 season. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026 The state’s order throws into question how these contracts will now be executed. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026 And much of the credit for that would go to Walter, who has funded a front office that consistently has outspent the rest of Major League Baseball, signing seven players to contracts worth more than $2 billion combined in the last six years alone. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Sacramento Ballet Executive Director Kiera Anderson, who was hired in January, explained that contracts for the season go out months in advance. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2026 Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts tied to whether future events occur, including sports outcomes. — Lillian Rizzo,jessica Golden, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026 Both Brown and Espada entered this season in the final year of their contracts. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Verb

Homer Glen contracts with the Will County sheriff’s office for its police services. — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 Fewer than 10 people typically die of the illness each year, but nearly everyone who contracts it dies, according to the CDC. — Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2026 Flock also contracts with businesses, schools and neighborhoods. — Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026 First, Selig addressed the agency's proposal from June to amend its rules on what event contracts the CFTC could prohibit. — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026 Flock no longer contracts directly with ICE, according to information presented at the rally. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026 The county would have to assume the service contracts the Sheriff’s Office has with smaller cities that do not have their own fire-rescue departments, including Weston, Dania Beach, Lauderdale Lakes and Cooper City. — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026 Lyft, which contracts drivers, didn’t immediately return a request for comment sent to the company’s media email address. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 The department is looking to buy eight Skydio X10 drones from Axon, the same company the department contracts with to surveil cars in the city. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contracts

Noun

Turner was thought to be the most likely (and most expensive) in a skyrocketing cornerback market that saw the latest agreement with New England’s Christian Gonzalez on Tuesday for four years, $135 million and $102 million in guarantees.

— Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
But there are no guarantees, as the bankruptcy court prepares to approve this unusual sale.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of guarantees

Noun

The threat of being charged by the federal government can lead witnesses to negotiate agreements with prosecutors to share evidence or testimony used to incriminate others in exchange for immunity or lighter punishments.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Fortum has previously said that new nuclear projects would require strong customer demand secured through long-term power purchase agreements, strategic partners, appropriate financing and risk-sharing arrangements.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of agreements

Verb

When the judges announce Jude as the winner, Bi, Anna, and Joseph don’t look surprised, and each gets a small hopeful comment at the end.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
If Muhammad thrives in the slot and Gordon never gets healthy, maybe the rookie becomes the nickel of the future.

— Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of gets

Verb

As cells are lost, the brain tissue in these regions shrinks.

— Claudia Metzler-Baddeley, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2026
Aware of them now, the dog shakes loose the can—his forelock matted, his jowl smeared with beans—and shrinks into the trees with a whimper that makes something tighten in Molly’s own chest.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of shrinks

Verb

Anything that compresses those two changes cash flow far more than another domestic instant-payment scheme.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
In effect, this compresses a 20-minute problem down to under two minutes, and a weeklong calculation to roughly two days.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of compresses

Verb

The union usually bargains in the same year as performers’ union SAG-AFTRA and directors’ union the Directors Guild of America.

— Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 6 Apr. 2026
One potential—though untested—workaround would be for conferences, which are private entities, to serve as a joint employer that bargains with a players’ union.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Mar. 2026

Definition of bargains

Noun

The financials are also unmatched, with last year’s annual check to each franchise from 345 Park Ave topping $450 million from leaguewide deals, primarily driven by the NFL’s $125 billion in media pacts.

— Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 8 Sep. 2026
NBCUniversal‘s Peacock launched a limited new membership program in a beta test with a variety of perks — aimed at keeping them from flying the coop as streaming subscribers, as well as driving incremental revenue from marketing pacts.

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026