contraction

  1. Noun.  A reversible reduction in size.
  2. Noun.  (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
  3. Noun.  (biology) A shortening of a muscle when it is used.
  4. Noun.  (medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
  5. Noun.  (grammar) A shortened word or phrase, with the missing letters represented by an apostrophe.
  6. Noun.  (medicine) Contracting a disease.
  7. Noun.  (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
  8. Noun.  The acquisition of something, generally negative.
  9. Noun.  (medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

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