Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Contract \Con*tract"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Contracted}; p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Contracting}.] [L. contractus, p. p. of contrahere
   to contract; con- + trahere to draw: cf. F. contracter. See
   {Trace}, and cf. {Contract}, n.]
   1. To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass;
      to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's
      sphere of action.

            In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our
            faculties.                            --Dr. H. More.

   2. To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.

            Thou didst contract and purse thy brow. --Shak.

   3. To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a
      habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.

            Each from each contract new strength and light.
                                                  --Pope.

            Such behavior we contract by having much conversed
            with persons of high station.         --Swift.

   4. To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain
      or covenant for.

            We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and
            lague with the aforesaid queen.       --Hakluyt.

            Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within
            the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by
            law.                                  --Strype.

   5. To betroth; to affiance.

            The truth is, she and I, long since contracted, Are
            now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us. --Shak.

   6. (Gram.) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by
      reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.

   Syn: To shorten; abridge; epitomize; narrow; lessen;
        condense; reduce; confine; incur; assume.

Contract \Con*tract"\, v. i.
   1. To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or
      extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in
      duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts
      when wet.

            Years contracting to a moment.        --Wordsworth.

   2. To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain;
      as, to contract for carrying the mail.

Contract \Con"tract\, a.
   Contracted; as, a contract verb. --Goodwin.

Contract \Con*tract"\, a. [L. contractus, p. p.]
   Contracted; affianced; betrothed. [Obs.] --Shak.

Contract \Con"tract\, n. [L. contractus, fr. contrahere: cf. F.
   contrat, formerly also contract.]
   1. (Law) The agreement of two or more persons, upon a
      sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain
      from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party
      undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a
      formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
      --Wharton.

   2. A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties,
      with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof
      of the obligation.

   3. The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.

            This is the the night of the contract. --Longwellow.

   Syn: Covenant; agreement; compact; stipulation; bargain;
        arrangement; obligation. See {Covenant}.

Source : WordNet®

contract
     n 1: a binding agreement between two or more persons that is
          enforceable by law
     2: (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract
        setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
        [syn: {declaration}]
     3: a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points
        toward game only for the number of tricks he bid [syn: {contract
        bridge}]

contract
     v 1: enter into a contractual arrangement [syn: {undertake}]
     2: engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers
        for the next season" [syn: {sign}, {sign on}, {sign up}]
     3: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the
        spasm contracted the muscle" [syn: {compress}, {constrict},
         {squeeze}, {compact}, {press}]
     4: become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The
        balloon shrank" [syn: {shrink}] [ant: {expand}, {stretch}]
     5: be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He
        got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a
        chill" [syn: {take}, {get}]
     6: make smaller; "The heat contracted the woollen garment"
     7: compress or concentrate; "Congress condensed the three-year
        plan into a six-month plan" [syn: {condense}, {concentrate}]
     8: make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was
        narrowed"; "The road narrowed" [syn: {narrow}] [ant: {widen}]
     9: reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The
        manuscript must be shortened" [syn: {abridge}, {foreshorten},
         {abbreviate}, {shorten}, {cut}, {reduce}] [ant: {elaborate}]