What is a contract?

Answer 1

A formal agreement between people or groups enforceable by law.

The Restatement of Contracts (a summary of the prevailing contract laws) defines "contract" as a "promise," the breach of which the law requires a remedy, or the performance of which the law recognizes as a duty.

The formation of a contract requires two essential elements: (1) manifestation of mutual assent (which takes place in the form of offer and acceptance), and (2) consideration (which is a bargained for exchange).

One common misconception is that a contract must ALWAYS be in writing. This is not true (even though it's a good idea, and in some cases it is necessary [see statute of frauds]). A "manifestation of mutual assent" can take many forms.

Another common misconception is that if you agree to something, it's a contract. This is not true either, as all contracts may come from agreements, but not all agreements are contracts. For example, I can agree to give you ten dollars as a gift, but this would not be a contract. Contracts are legally enforceable agreements, and they require a bargained for exchange.

Answer 2

Grammatically, "a contraction" is a short form of one or two words created by replacing one or more letters with an apostrophe (e.g. do not = don't or cannot = can't).

Anatomically, a contraction is the shortening of muscles, more specifically such actions as the squeezing of heart muscles to pump blood, or the peristaltic movements that propel a fetus through the birth canal.

Generally, contraction is the shortening of a length in materials, as may be caused by a decrease in temperature. An example is the increased tension in electrical wires in the wintertime.

Answer 3

A contraction is two words combined together and make a word with an apostrophe. One example is are and not when you put them together you get Aren't and that is a contraction.