contact

1 of 3

noun

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

1

a

: union or junction of surfaces

Cooling begins when the lava makes contact with the air.

b

: the apparent touching or mutual tangency of the limbs of two celestial bodies or of the disk of one body with the shadow of another during an eclipse, transit, or occultation

c(1)

: the junction of two electrical conductors through which a current passes

(2)

: a special part made for such a junction

The camera's flash wasn't working because the electrical contacts needed to be cleaned.

2

a

: association, relationship

students and teachers in daily contact

b

: connection, communication

I lost contact with her years ago.

c

: an establishing of communication with someone or an observing or receiving of a significant signal from a person or object

radar contact with Mars

3

: a person serving as a go-between, messenger, connection, or source of special information

business contacts

4

: contact lens

She wears contacts more often than glasses.

contact

2 of 3

verb

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

kən-ˈtakt

contacted; contacting; contacts

intransitive verb

: to make contact

the point at which the two surfaces contact

transitive verb

1

: to bring into contact

2

a

: to enter or be in contact with : join

The spark contacted the gunpowder.

b

: to get in communication with

Contact your local dealer.

Is contact a verb?: Usage Guide

The use of contact as a verb, especially in sense 2b, is accepted as standard by almost all commentators except those who write college handbooks.

contact

3 of 3

adjective

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

: maintaining, involving, or activated or caused by contact

contact poisons

contact sports

contact dermatitis

Synonyms

Noun

• connection

Verb

• address
• communicate (with)
• get
• reach

Examples of contact in a Sentence

Noun

Physical contact between a mother and child is very important.

a disease that is spread by sexual contact

Contacts between the two leaders have been frequent in recent weeks.

I applied for a job at that law firm because I have a contact there.

Verb

For more information, contact the city's tourism office.

We were able to contact them by radio.

She contacted everyone on the list.

Adjective

Ice hockey is a contact sport.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Throughout the 1980s, in response to North Korea’s tilt toward Russia, China increased its diplomatic contacts with South Korea. —Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024

Even if the person never feels ill, that worker should be tested and given the antiviral drug Tamiflu to reduce their risk of ever developing symptoms or passing the virus to close contacts. —Erika Edwards, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

Verb

As the White family mourned Magnus, they were contacted by the family members of other cyclists and pedestrians killed by drivers who had been texting or nodding off at the time of the collision. —Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024

Those with questions, may contact the Walton Arts Center box office at [phone] or by email at [e-mail]. —Monica Hooper, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Industries with traditionally late, or erratic hours, or those that require workers to be on-call, would still be allowed to contact workers as long as non-contact hours are clearly stated in worker contracts, or on-call time is compensated. —Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024

The most common injuries in football are strains and sprains, which happen in both contact and non-contact settings, along with dislocations, fractures and concussions. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French & Latin; French, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin contāctus "touching, joining of surfaces, association," from contag-, variant stem of contingere "to be in contact with, arrive at, affect, fall to one's lot" + -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at contingent entry 1

Verb

derivative of contact entry 1

Adjective

derivative of contact entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1834, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Adjective

1859, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing contact

• come in/into contact with
• contact binary
• contact hitter
• contact inhibition
• contact language
• contact lens
• contact print
• contact trace
• contact tracing
• eye contact
• human contact
• make contact
• make contact with
• on contact

Kids Definition

contact

1 of 3 noun

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

1

: a meeting or touching of surfaces

2

: the connection of two electrical conductors through which a current passes or a part made for such a connection

3

: a person one knows who has influence especially in the business or political world

our contacts in Los Angeles may be able to assist you

4

: an establishing of communication especially with someone or something distant

make contact by radio

5

: contact lens

contact

2 of 3 verb

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

kən-ˈtakt

1

: to bring or come into contact

2

: to get in touch or communication with

contact your local dealer for details

contact

3 of 3 adjective

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

: involving or acting upon contact

football and ice hockey are contact sports

contact insecticides

Etymology

Noun

from French contact or Latin contactus, both meaning "a touching of body surfaces," from Latin contingere "to have contact with, affect, happen," from con-, com- "with, together" and tangere "to touch" — related to contagious, contingent, tangent, tangible

Medical Definition

contact

1 of 2 noun

con·​tact ˈkän-ˌtakt 

1

: union or junction of body surfaces

sexual contact

2

a

: the junction of two electrical conductors through which a current passes

b

: a special part that has been made for such a junction

3

: direct experience through the senses

loss of contact with reality

4

: contact lens

contact

2 of 2 adjective

: caused or transmitted by direct or indirect contact (as with an allergen or a contagious disease)

a contact allergy