Constrict vs. Contract — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 5, 2023
Constrict refers to making something narrower by squeezing or compressing, while Contract means to enter into a formal agreement or to decrease in size.
Difference Between Constrict and Contract
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Both Constrict and Contract deal with forms of reduction, but in different manners and contexts. Constrict primarily denotes a physical tightening or narrowing, often caused by external pressures. For instance, cold can Constrict blood vessels. On the other hand, Contract can be understood in multiple ways, one of which is the act of entering into a binding agreement with another party.
While Constrict often carries a physical or biological connotation, such as a snake constricting its prey, Contract leans more towards legal or informal arrangements, like business agreements. However, Contract also has a physical meaning similar to Constrict, as in muscles contracting.
Furthermore, Constrict commonly denotes a limiting or restricting force. For instance, certain conditions can Constrict the airflow in lungs. Meanwhile, Contract, when taken in a non-legal context, can indicate a reduction in size or number. For example, metals can Contract in cold temperatures.
In essence, while both Constrict and Contract have a degree of overlap in the physical realm of shrinking or tightening, Constrict often implies a squeezing force, and Contract can either denote formal agreements or a simple reduction.
Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
To make narrower or tighter.
To enter into a formal agreement or to decrease in size.
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Context
Physical or biological.
Legal or physical.
Examples
Blood vessels, airflow.
Business deals, muscle movement.
Implied Action
Squeezing or compressing.
Forming a binding relationship or shrinking.
Associated Feel
Restriction or limitation.
Commitment or reduction.
Compare with Definitions
Constrict
To make something narrower, especially by squeezing or compressing.
Cold temperatures can Constrict the blood vessels.
Contract
To enter into a formal and legally binding agreement.
They are set to Contract for three years of service.
Constrict
To become narrower.
The pathway began to Constrict as they moved further into the forest.
Contract
To become affected by a disease or condition.
She Contracted a cold during the winter months.
Constrict
To inhibit or restrict.
Asthma can Constrict the airways.
Contract
To draw together or become smaller.
Metals can Contract when exposed to cold temperatures.
Constrict
To bind or tighten.
The snake Constricts its prey to immobilize it.
Contract
A contract is a legally binding document between at least two parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to an agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law.
Constrict
To limit movement or freedom.
The tight dress seemed to Constrict her movement.
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law.
Constrict
To make smaller or narrower by binding or squeezing.
Contract
The writing or document containing such an agreement.
Constrict
To squeeze or compress.
Contract
The branch of law dealing with formal agreements between parties.
Constrict
To restrict the scope or freedom of; cramp
Lives constricted by poverty.
Contract
Marriage as a formal agreement; betrothal.
Constrict
To become constricted.
Contract
The last and highest bid of a suit in one hand in bridge.
Constrict
(ambitransitive) To narrow, especially by application of pressure.
Contract
The number of tricks thus bid.
Constrict
To coil around (prey) in order to asphyxiate it.
Contract
Contract bridge.
Constrict
(figurative) To limit or restrict.
Contract
A paid assignment to murder someone
Put out a contract on the mobster's life.
Constrict
To draw together; to render narrower or smaller; to bind; to cramp; to contract or cause to shrink.
Such things as constrict the fibers.
Membranous organs inclosing a cavity which their contraction serves to constrict.
Contract
To enter into by contract; establish or settle by formal agreement
Contract a marriage.
Constrict
Squeeze or press together;
She compressed her lips
The spasm contracted the muscle
Contract
To acquire or incur
Contract obligations.
Contract a serious illness.
Constrict
Become tight or as if tight;
Her throat constricted
Contract
To reduce in size by drawing together; shrink.
Contract
To pull together; wrinkle.
Contract
(Grammar) To shorten (a word or words) by omitting or combining some of the letters or sounds, as do not to don't.
Contract
To enter into or make an agreement
Contract for garbage collection.
Contract
To become reduced in size by or as if by being drawn together
The pupils of the patient's eyes contracted.
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
Marriage is a contract.
Sign a contract
Write up a contract
Read a contract
Countersign a contract
Legally-binding contract
Unwritten contract
Contract
(legal) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
Contract
(legal) The document containing such an agreement.
Contract
(legal) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
Contract
(informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.
The mafia boss put a contract out on the man who betrayed him.
Contract
(bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
Contract
(obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
(obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.
Contract
(ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
The snail’s body contracted into its shell.
To contract one’s sphere of action
Contract
(grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
The word “cannot” is often contracted into “can’t”.
Contract
(transitive) To enter into a contract with. en
Contract
(transitive) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
Contract
(intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain.
To contract for carrying the mail
Contract
(transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.
To contract a debt
Contract
(transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
Contract
To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action.
In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties.
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Thou didst contract and purse thy brow.
Contract
To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
Each from each contract new strength and light.
Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high station.
Contract
To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and lague with the aforesaid queen.
Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by law.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
The truth is, she and I, long since contracted,Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us.
Contract
To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
Contract
To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet.
Years contracting to a moment.
Contract
To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.
Contract
Contracted; as, a contract verb.
Contract
Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
The agreement of two or more persons, upon a sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
Contract
A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
Contract
The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
This is the the night of the contract.
Contract
A binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
Contract
(contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
Contract
A variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid
Contract
Enter into a contractual arrangement
Contract
Engage by written agreement;
They signed two new pitchers for the next season
Contract
Squeeze or press together;
She compressed her lips
The spasm contracted the muscle
Contract
Become smaller or draw together;
The fabric shrank
The balloon shrank
Contract
Be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness;
He got AIDS
She came down with pneumonia
She took a chill
Contract
Make smaller;
The heat contracted the woollen garment
Contract
Compress or concentrate;
Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan
Contract
Make or become more narrow or restricted;
The selection was narrowed
The road narrowed
Contract
Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements;
The manuscript must be shortened
Contract
To decrease in size, volume, or quantity.
The balloon Contracted as the air inside cooled.
Contract
To obtain a service or item for a specific task.
The agency Contracted a freelancer for the project.
Common Curiosities
Can "Contract" imply a squeezing motion like "Constrict"?
Yes, in contexts like "muscles Contracting", but it's broader in meaning.
Can "Constrict" be used in a legal sense like "Contract"?
No, Constrict primarily relates to physical narrowing or tightening.
If a pathway narrows, can I say it Contracts?
It's more common to say the pathway "Constricts", though "Contracts" can be understood.
Can a hose Constrict?
Yes, if pressure is applied or if something inhibits its inner passage.
Can a snake Contract its prey?
It's more appropriate to say a snake "Constricts" its prey.
Can you Contract a pathway?
Not typically. Pathways are said to "Constrict" or narrow.
Can you have a Contract of constriction?
While unusual, it could imply a formal agreement about narrowing or limiting something.
Can you Constrict a deal?
Typically, no. Deals are usually "Contracted" or entered into.
How are muscles related to these terms?
Muscles "Contract" (shorten) and relax, but if tightly bound, they might feel "Constricted".
Can emotions Constrict?
In a figurative sense, yes. E.g., "Fear can Constrict one's heart."
Is a Contract always legal?
Not always. It can imply any formal or informal agreement or a physical action of decreasing in size.
Can feelings be Constricted?
Yes, in a figurative sense. E.g., "His emotions Constricted with anxiety."
What happens to a Contracted deal if it's Constricted?
In a metaphorical sense, the deal's terms might be made more restrictive or limited.
Does water Constrict or Contract when frozen?
Interestingly, water expands when frozen. But most materials "Contract" (shrink) when cold.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
