Contracting - English meaning

verb

Buy or obtain (an asset or object) for oneself.

Usage examples:

I managed to acquire all the books i needed

verb

Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

verb

To obtain or begin to have something

Usage examples:

His family acquired the property in 1985., she acquired her love of the outdoors as a child.

verb

Have the same opinion about something; concur.

Usage examples:

I completely agree with your recent editorial

verb

Intercept and hold (something which has been thrown, propelled, or dropped).

Usage examples:

She threw the bottle into the air and caught it again

noun

An act of catching something, typically a ball.

Usage examples:

I saw myself fumbling easy catches and looking clumsy.

verb

Take hold of so as to seize or stop the motion of

noun

An agreement.

Usage examples:

There was a covenant between them that her name was never to be mentioned

verb

Agree by lease, deed, or other legal contract.

Usage examples:

The landlord covenants to repair the property

noun

A formal agreement between countries, organizations, or people

verb

(typically of something regarded as good) become smaller, fewer, or less; decrease.

Usage examples:

The birth rate continued to decline

noun

A gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, quality, or value.

Usage examples:

A serious decline in bird numbers

verb

To go down in amount or quality; lessen or weaken

Usage examples:

His interest in the project declined after his wife died., her health declined quickly., [ t ] she …

verb

Make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, intensity, or degree.

Usage examples:

The population of the area has decreased radically

noun

An instance or example of becoming smaller or fewer.

Usage examples:

A decrease in births

verb

To become smaller or make something less

Usage examples:

[ i ] car sales decreased sharply this year., i haven’t noticed any decrease in ticket sales.

verb

Grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate.

Usage examples:

Motion pictures were to develop into mass entertainment

verb

Progress or evolve through a process of natural growth

verb

To grow or cause to grow or change into a more advanced form

Usage examples:

[ t ] this exercise will help develop the shoulder and back muscles (= it will make them stronger).…

verb

Make or become less.

Usage examples:

The new law is expected to diminish the government's chances

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the threat of inflation is diminishing., [ t ] a single-payer system would diminish the burea…

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size, importance, or value

Usage examples:

If consumers start losing confidence, it will diminish demand for household goods., investors can d…

verb

Diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength.

Usage examples:

Traffic has dwindled to a trickle

verb

To become less in number or smaller

Usage examples:

The community had dwindled to a tenth of its former size.

verb

To gradually become less, smaller, or lower in level

Usage examples:

Dwindle from sth to sth the municipality's population has dwindled from 40,000 to 24,000., dwindlin…

verb

Occupy or attract (someone's interest or attention).

Usage examples:

He ploughed on, trying to outline his plans and engage sutton's attention

adjective

(of a writer or artist) committed to a particular aim or cause.

Usage examples:

He was determined that his writing and thinking should be engagé

verb

Consume all of one's attention or time

verb

Come to have (something); receive.

Usage examples:

I got a letter from him the other day

noun

See have.

verb

Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

verb

Become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as a result of one's own behaviour or actions.

Usage examples:

I will pay any expenses incurred

verb

To experience something bad as a result of actions you have taken

Usage examples:

We incurred heavy expenses to repair the poor work done by the builder.

verb

To be made to lose money or have to pay a charge

Usage examples:

Incur a charge/fine/fee, companies incur additional costs in dealing with non-paying customers., th…

collocation

Take and lift upward

phrasal verb

Take hold of and lift or move someone or something.

Usage examples:

I reached out and picked up a magazine

phrasal verb

Go somewhere to collect someone, typically in one's car.

Usage examples:

Will you pick the children up from school?

noun

A solemn promise or undertaking.

Usage examples:

The conference ended with a joint pledge to limit pollution

verb

Commit (a person or organization) by a solemn promise.

Usage examples:

The government pledged itself to deal with environmental problems

noun

A formal promise, or something that is given as a sign that you will keep a promise

Usage examples:

A pledge of friendship, the telethon raised $150,000 in pledges for leukemia research.

noun

A declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen.

Usage examples:

What happened to all those firm promises of support?

verb

Assure someone that one will definitely do something or that something will happen.

Usage examples:

He promised to forward my mail

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

verb

Become or make smaller in size or amount.

Usage examples:

The workforce shrank to a thousand

noun

A psychiatrist.

Usage examples:

You should see a shrink

verb

To become smaller or cause something to become smaller

Usage examples:

[ i ] the show’s audience has shrunk in the last few months., [ t ] i shrank my sweater by putting …

verb

Wrinkle and contract or cause to wrinkle and contract, especially due to loss of moisture.

Usage examples:

The flowers simply shrivelled up

verb

To become dried out and smaller, appearing crushed or folded, or to make something do this

Usage examples:

[ t ] the hot sun shriveled the flowers i put in the window.

verb

Commit oneself to and begin (an enterprise or responsibility); take on.

Usage examples:

A firm of builders undertook the construction work

verb

Catch up with and pass (another vehicle) while travelling on the inside.

Usage examples:

He undertook me, at 70 mph, while on his mobile phone

verb

Enter upon an activity or enterprise