| / English Dictionary |
CONTACT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Close interaction
Example:
they claimed that they had been in contact with extraterrestrial beings
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
interaction (a mutual or reciprocal action; interacting)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contact"):
brush (contact with something dangerous or undesirable)
eye contact (contact that occurs when two people look directly at each other)
placement (contact established between applicants and prospective employees)
Derivation:
contact (be in or establish communication with)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of touching physically
Example:
her fingers came in contact with the light switch
Synonyms:
contact; physical contact
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
touch; touching (the act of putting two things together with no space between them)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contact"):
rub; wipe (the act of rubbing or wiping)
fair ball ((baseball) a ball struck with the bat so that it stays between the lines (the foul lines) that define the width of the playing field)
snick (a glancing contact with the ball off the edge of the cricket bat)
laying on (the act of contacting something with your hand)
Derivation:
contact (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(electronics) a junction where things (as two electrical conductors) touch or are in physical contact
Example:
they forget to solder the contacts
Synonyms:
contact; tangency
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
conjunction; junction (something that joins or connects)
Domain category:
electronics (the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contact"):
contact arm; wiper; wiper arm (contact consisting of a conducting arm that rotates over a series of fixed contacts and comes to rest on an outlet)
tread (the part (as of a wheel or shoe) that makes contact with the ground)
pole; terminal (a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves)
sound bow (contact (the part of a bell) against which the clapper strikes)
short; short circuit (accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference)
p-n junction (the junction between a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor)
electrical contact (contact that allows current to pass from one conductor to another)
breaker point; distributor point; point (a contact in the distributor; as the rotor turns its projecting arm contacts them and current flows to the spark plugs)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A thin curved glass or plastic lens designed to fit over the cornea in order to correct vision or to deliver medication
Synonyms:
contact; contact lens
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
lens; lens system; lense (a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A channel for communication between groups
Example:
he provided a liaison with the guerrillas
Synonyms:
contact; inter-group communication; liaison; link
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
channel; communication channel; line ((often plural) a means of communication or access)
Derivation:
contact (be in or establish communication with)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A communicative interaction
Example:
he got in touch with his colleagues
Synonyms:
contact; touch
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
communicating; communication (the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information)
Sense 7
Meaning:
The physical coming together of two or more things
Example:
contact with the pier scraped paint from the hull
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
happening; natural event; occurrence; occurrent (an event that happens)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contact"):
touch; touching (the event of something coming in contact with the body)
impact (the striking of one body against another)
flick (a light sharp contact (usually with something flexible))
engagement; interlocking; mesh; meshing (contact by fitting together)
collision; hit ((physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together)
Derivation:
contact (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A person who is in a position to give you special assistance
Example:
he used his business contacts to get an introduction to the governor
Synonyms:
contact; middleman
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
representative (a person who represents others)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The state or condition of touching or of being in immediate proximity
Example:
litmus paper turns red on contact with an acid
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("contact" is a kind of...):
connectedness; connection; link (the state of being connected)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contact"):
osculation ((mathematics) a contact of two curves (or two surfaces) at which they have a common tangent)
tangency (the state of being tangent; having contact at a single point or along a line without crossing)
Derivation:
contact (be in direct physical contact with; make contact)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they contact ... he / she / it contacts
Past simple: contacted
Past participle: contacted
-ing form: contacting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Be in or establish communication with
Example:
He never contacted his children after he emigrated to Australia
Synonyms:
contact; get hold of; get through; reach
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "contact" is one way to...):
communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contact"):
ping (send a message from one computer to another to check whether it is reachable and active)
ping (contact, usually in order to remind of something)
raise (establish radio communications with)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Derivation:
contact (close interaction)
contact (a channel for communication between groups)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Be in direct physical contact with; make contact
Example:
The surfaces contact at this point
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Verb group:
converge; meet (be adjacent or come together)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contact"):
cover; spread over (form a cover over)
adhere; cleave; cling; cohere; stick (come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation)
chafe; fray; fret; rub; scratch (cause friction)
attach (be attached; be in contact with)
hug (fit closely or tightly)
abut; adjoin; border; butt; butt against; butt on; edge; march (lie adjacent to another or share a boundary)
border; environ; ring; skirt; surround (extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle)
lean against; lean on; rest on (rest on for support)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
contact (the act of touching physically)
contact (the physical coming together of two or more things)
contact (the state or condition of touching or of being in immediate proximity)
Context examples:
The virus spreads by direct contact, and can be prevented by prophylaxis with the polio vaccine.
(Acute Poliomyelitis, NCI Thesaurus)
These viruses spread through the air when people cough, or through physical contact (for example, on unwashed hands).
(Acute Bronchitis, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
Keratitis due to infection by acanthamoeba; it is usually associated with soft contact lens wear, particularly overnight wear.
(Acanthamoeba Keratitis, NCI Thesaurus)
A white blood cell that, after being in contact with an antigen, rearranges its DNA to defend against that one specific type of antigen.
(Activated Lymphocyte, NCI Thesaurus)
Ozturk mentioned superior contact resistance — or skin contact — with flexible devices, as well as the ergonomic and comfort considerations to the device wearer.
(Flexible Wearable Electronics Use Body Heat for Energy, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Now let’s go back to the dates when Mars will contact other planets in the solar system.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
The company is reportedly also in contact with Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles about the possibility of testing the truck on the state’s roads.
(Tesla to Test Self-driving Electric Trucks, VOA News)
The mission's final calculations predict loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place on Sept. 15 at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT).
(Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn, NASA)
Once Ebola virus has been transmitted from an animal host to a human, it can spread through person-to-person contact.
(Genetics of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak, NIH)
Anne had never seen her father and sister before in contact with nobility, and she must acknowledge herself disappointed.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
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