as in squeezed
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1
as in got
to become affected with (a disease or disorder)
before vaccines were invented, people lived in fear of contracting polio
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2
as in compressed
to become smaller in size or volume through the drawing together of particles of matter
metal contracts at low temperatures
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3
as in condensed
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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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contracted
Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
New orders contracted for a fourth month and export bookings remained weak, based on the ISM data.
—Reade Pickert Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 6 Jan. 2026
Before then, around 18,000 children every year contracted the virus before their 10th birthday.
—Jake Scott, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
At least 11 million people have contracted the flu so far this season and 5,000 people have died, according to data released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
At least 11 million people have contracted the flu, 120,000 people have been hospitalized for it, and 5,000 people have died from it this season, according to the CDC.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 6 Jan. 2026
That means the ships couldn’t be contracted for construction until the early 2030s and would not enter service if built until the late 2030s or early 2040, the research service said.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 4 Jan. 2026
Over the past decade, Venezuela’s economy has contracted by roughly 80%, the largest peacetime collapse ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2026
After his death, in 1321, from malaria contracted on the way back from a diplomatic mission to Venice, the last 13 cantos from Paradiso went missing.
—Eric Bulson, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
Verb
Stokes and McCullum are both contracted until 2027, with McCullum also in charge of the white-ball setup having added it alongside his Test remit a year ago.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for contracted
Verb
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By 1996, Joe broke through in commercial work and got into television.—
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Multiple King of Fire, which got its start as a food truck and expanded to a permanent space in uptown Charlotte, plans to open a 3,484-square-foot space at CrossRidge Center across the border in Indian Land, South Carolina.—
Verb
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Las Vegas has compressed a short stretch of the Strip into a luxury gauntlet that’ll wreck your step count and your credit limit in the same afternoon.—
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Right now, with silver at elevated levels, premiums have compressed somewhat as a percentage of total price compared to when silver was trading at $20 or $30 per ounce.—
Verb
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The Panthers squeezed a few end-of-career seasons out of guys such as Dino Ciccarelli and Igor Larionov.—
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Steamer or Iron When squeezed into a small suitcase, clothes have a tendency to wrinkle.—
Verb
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The dispute was resolved after Singh agreed to provide additional context, explaining that the files were collaborative documents shared among participants through the messaging app Signal.—
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The state of Idaho asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, and this past summer the court agreed to review it.—
Verb
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Secure loose outdoor items and adjust plans as necessary so you're not caught outside.—
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Boasting over 1,300 five-star ratings, this foldable cushion caught my attention because it can be used for lower back pain, too.—
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The collapse of social and search traffic has shrunk its audiences, particularly at Business Insider, which has long relied on clicks.—
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The move blew a roughly billion-dollar hole in the organization's budget, and the fund to pay for shipments shrank.—
Verb
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This conversation has been edited and condensed.—
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This interview has been edited and condensed.—
Verb
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Content licensing revenues decreased 27% to $59 million primarily due to the timing and availability of deliveries in the period.—
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The median sale price for detached homes remained flat at $650,000, while attached homes decreased by 3% to $388,220.—
Cite this Entry
“Contracted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contracted. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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