contraction

n.

1. The act of contracting or the state of being contracted.
2. 1. A word, as won't from will not, or phrase, as o'clock from of the clock, formed by omitting or combining some of the sounds of a longer phrase.
   2. The formation of such a word.
3. Physiology. The shortening and thickening of functioning muscle or muscle fiber.
4. A period of decreased business activity.

A phase of the business cycle in which the economy as a whole is in decline. More specifically, contraction occurs after the business cycle peaks, but before it becomes a trough. According to most economists, a contraction is said to occur when a country's real GDP has declined for two or more consecutive quarters.

Investopedia Says:
For most people, a contraction in the economy can be source of economic hardship; as the economy plunges into a contraction, people start losing their jobs. While no economic contraction lasts forever, it is very difficult to assess just how long a downtrend will continue before it reverses because history has shown that a contraction can last for many years (such as during the Great Depression).

Related Links:
Understanding the business cycle and your own investment style can help you cope with an economic decline. Recession: What Does It Mean To Investors?
Prices never move in straight lines, so it's time to learn about this powerful trend-following technique. Peak-and-Trough Analysis

1. Assets are distributed to corporate shareholders in a partial Liquidation. Contrast with a corporate separation in a Divisive Reorganization.

2. On a national level, a reduction in the level of Aggregate Income or Gross Domestic Product; downturn in the business cycle, also called recession.

n

Definition: drawing in; shortening
Antonyms: amplification, dilation, enlargement, expansion, extension, increase, lengthening, spread, stretch

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n

1. a shortening, shrinkage, or reduction in length or size. 2. a condition in which teeth or other maxillary and mandibular structures, such as the dental arch, are nearer than normal to the median plane.

Of concrete, the sum of volume changes occurring as the result of all processes affecting the bulk volume of a mass of concrete.

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A word produced by running two or more words together and leaving out some of the letters or sounds. For example, isn't is a contraction of is not.

An apostrophe is generally used in contractions to show where letters or sounds have been left out.

A drawing together; a shortening or shrinkage.

• isovolumetric c. — ventricular muscle contraction during early systole after closure of the atrioventricular valves and before the semilunar valves open; the muscle continues to contract, forcing up the ventricular pressure without any change in the ventricular volume.
• muscle c. — see muscle.
• myocardial c. — individual myocardial cells transmit motor impulses across cell boundaries and act as a syncytium.
• c. phase — the stage in wound healing when there is centripetal movement of surrounding tissues and the area of the wound decreases. This is believed to be a cell-mediated phenomenon, involving myofibroblasts.
• postural c. — the state of muscular tension and contraction that just suffices to maintain the posture of the body.
• striated muscle c. — see muscle.
• tetanic c., tonic c. — sustained muscular contraction with alternating relaxation.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sammentrækning, ve, svind, indsnævring, stiftelse, kortform, forkortelse, krympning

Nederlands (Dutch)
barenswee, vermindering, verkorting van woord (door weglating van lettergreep etc.), verkort woord, samentrekking

Français (French)
n. - contraction, réduction, (Méd, Physiol) contraction, contractions (accouchement), (Ling) contraction

Deutsch (German)
n. - Kontraktion, Zusammenziehung, Ansammlung, Verengung, Geburtswehe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συστολή, σύσπαση, (γραμμ.) συναίρεση ή συνηρημένη λέξη

Italiano (Italian)
contrazione, doglie

Português (Portuguese)
n. - contração (f) (Gram.)

Русский (Russian)
уменьшение, сокращение

Español (Spanish)
n. - contracción, dolores del parto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sammandragning, hopdragning, kontraktion, förkortning, minskning, krympning, sammandragen form (gram.), inskränkning (bildl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
收缩, 传染, 缩写式

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 收縮, 傳染, 縮寫式

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 수축, 절감, 버릇, 구속

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 短縮, 収縮, 萎縮, 縮小, 制限, 負債をつくること, 縮約, 省略算, 交わりを結ぶこと

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تقلص, انكماش, اختصار لكلمه طويله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התכווצות, קיצור‬

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