释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024con•tact /ˈkɑntækt/USA pronunciation n. - the act or state of touching or of being near enough to touch:[uncountable]The rear wheels lost contact with the road.
- the act or state of being in communication:[uncountable]The pilot of the plane lost contact with the control tower.[in + ~]still in contact with my high school friends.
- a person who can gain access to favors, influential people, etc.:[countable]had a contact down at city hall.
- Electricity a part of an electric circuit that joins electric conductors, used for completing or interrupting a circuit:[countable]The reason for the power failure was that some contacts were worn and failed to complete a circuit.
- contact lens:[countable]She wears contacts.
v. [~ + object] - to communicate with; get in touch with;
reach: We'll contact you by phone. con•tact•ee, n. [countable]con•tac•tu•al /kɑnˈtæktʃuəl/USA pronunciation adj. See -tact-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024con•tact (kon′takt),USA pronunciation n. - the act or state of touching; a touching or meeting, as of two things or people.
- immediate proximity or association.
- an acquaintance, colleague, or relative through whom a person can gain access to information, favors, influential people, and the like.
- Electricitya junction of electric conductors, usually metal, that controls current flow, often completing or interrupting a circuit.
- Geologythe interface, generally a planar surface, between strata that differ in lithology or age.
- Medicinea person who has lately been exposed to an infected person.
- Sociologya condition in which two or more individuals or groups are placed in communication with each other. Cf. categoric contact, primary contact, secondary contact, sympathetic contact.
- See contact lens.
v.t. - to put or bring into contact.
- to communicate with:We'll contact you by mail or telephone.
v.i. - to enter into or be in contact.
adj. - involving or produced by touching or proximity:contact allergy.
- *contag-, variant stem of contingere to touch (con- con- + -tingere, combining form of tangere to touch) + -tus suffix of verb, verbal action; compare tango, attain
- Latin contāctus a touching, equivalent. to contāc-
- 1620–30
con•tac•tu•al (kon tak′cho̅o̅ əl),USA pronunciation adj. con•tac′tu•al•ly, adv. Many verbs in English have derived from nouns. One can head an organization or toe the mark; butter the bread or bread the cutlet. Hence, grammatically at least, there is no historical justification for the once frequently heard criticism of contact used as a verb meaning "to communicate with'':The managing editor contacted each reporter personally.Despite the earlier objections to it and probably largely because there is no other one-word verb in the language to express the same idea, this use of contact has become standard in all types of speech and writing. Contact as a noun meaning "a person through whom one can gain access to information and the like'' is also standard:My contact at the embassy says that the coup has been successful. |