contingency

  1. Noun.  (uncountable) The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance; unpredictability. (defdate, 1560s) .
  2. Noun.  (countable) A possibility; something which may or may not happen. A chance occurrence, especially in (finance) , unexpected expenses. (defdate, 1610s) .
  3. Noun.  (countable) An amount of money which a party to a contract has to pay to the other party (usually the supplier of a major project to the client) if he or she does not fulfill the contract according to the specification.
  4. Noun.  (logic, countable) A statement which is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.