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con·trac·tion
contraction
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- pronunciation:
- kn
traek
shn
part of speech: |
noun |
inflections: |
contractions |
definition 1: |
the strong, painful action of muscles in which they become tight, especially before and during the birth of a baby.
Sheila had contractions for ten hours before her baby was born.- antonyms:
- extension
- similar words:
- narrowing, reduction, shrinking
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definition 2: |
a short form of two words, where the missing letters are replaced by an apostrophe. "I'm" is the contraction of "I am."
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related words: |
abbreviation |
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