contraction

Universal Words noun 1 [U] the process of becoming smaller: the expansion and contraction of the metal * The sudden contraction of the markets left them with a lot of unwanted stock. * Physical stress caused by expansion and contraction can damage components within the computer. 2 [C,U] a sudden and painful tightening of muscles, especially the tightening of the muscles around a woman's WOMB that happen when she is giving birth to a child: The contractions started coming every five minutes. 3 [C] (linguistics) a short from of a word: 'He's' may be a contraction of 'he is' or 'he has'.