Basic Details
Word: Contracted
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Became smaller or shorter; also, caught an illness, or made a formal agreement to do work.
Synonyms: shrank, tightened, caught, agreed
Antonyms: expanded, swelled, stretched
How to Spell Contracted
Syllables: con - tract - ed
Tricky part: The middle is tract with ct, and ed is added without doubling the t.
Watch out for: contractted, contracked, contrated
Memory tip: Tract comes from a Latin word for pull, as in tractor, the machine that pulls. A muscle that has contracted has pulled itself in.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The metal lid contracted in the cold, so it came off easily.
Example 2: My uncle contracted dengue during the rainy season.
Example 3: The company contracted a local firm to repair the school roof.
Fun Fact
Steel rails expand in summer heat and contract in winter cold. Older railway lines leave small gaps between rails so they do not buckle; many modern tracks are welded and fixed under tension instead.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word contracted as used in the sentence:
The iron rod contracted as it cooled in the night air.
a) expanded
b) shortened
c) tightened
d) shrank
Show answer
a) expanded. Shrank, tightened and shortened all mean getting smaller; expanded means growing larger.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. condenced 2. contracted 3. dilluted 4. evapourated
a) became smaller, or caught an illness
b) turned from a gas into a liquid
c) turned from a liquid into vapour
d) made weaker by adding water
Show answer
a) became smaller, or caught an illness. Diluted has one l, evaporated drops the u of vapour and condensed ends in -sed.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The builder contracted to finish the school hall before the monsoon, but a shortege of bricks delayed the work.
a) shortege
b) delayed
c) monsoon
d) contracted
Show answer
a) shortege. Short + age makes shortage; an e has taken the place of the a.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a person has contracted malaria, they have ____.
a) studied the disease
b) caught the disease
c) cured the disease
d) avoided the disease
Show answer
b) caught the disease
2. In I'm, the words I and am have been contracted. Here contracted means ____.
a) written backwards
b) said very loudly
c) spelt in capitals
d) shortened by joining
Show answer
d) shortened by joining
