Definition of Contraction

• (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)
• the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together; "the contraction of a gas on cooling"
• a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds; "`wont is a contraction of `will not"; "`oclock is a contraction of `of the clock"