| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024con•trac•tion /kənˈtrækʃən/USA pronunciation n. - an act or instance of contracting:[countable]a contraction of about two inches in the cold weather.
- the quality or state of being contracted:[uncountable]the problem of contraction in the cold.
- Grammar[countable] a shortened form of a word or group of words, with the letters that were left out often replaced in written English by an apostrophe, such as isn't for is not, they're for they are, or e'er for ever.
- Communications, Business a decrease in economic and industrial activity(opposed to expansion ):[uncountable]Another six months of contraction and we'll have a real recession on our hands.
See -trac-. Contractions (isn't, couldn't, can't, he'll ) occur chiefly, although not exclusively, in informal speech and writing. They are common in personal letters, business letters, journalism, and fiction; rare in scientific and scholarly writing.See -trac-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024con•trac•tion (kən trak′shən),USA pronunciation n. - an act or instance of contracting.
- the quality or state of being contracted.
- Grammara shortened form of a word or group of words, with the omitted letters often replaced in written English by an apostrophe, as e'er for ever, isn't for is not, dep't for department.
- Physiologythe change in a muscle by which it becomes thickened and shortened.
- Businessa restriction or withdrawal, as of currency or of funds available as call money.
- Communications, Businessa decrease in economic and industrial activity (opposed to expansion).
- Latin contractiōn- (stem of contractiō), equivalent. to contract(us) drawn together, past participle of contrahere (see contract) + -iōn- -ion
- Middle French)
- late Middle English (1375–1425
Contractions such as isn't, couldn't, can't, weren't, he'll, they're occur chiefly, although not exclusively, in informal speech and writing. They are common in personal letters, business letters, journalism, and fiction; they are rare in scientific and scholarly writing. Contractions occur in formal writing mainly as representations of speech. |