contactless

adjective

con·​tact·​less ˈkän-ˌtakt-ləs 

: not involving contact: such as

a

: not requiring touching or interaction between people

contactless meal delivery

… many retailers and restaurants have rolled out home delivery along with contactless options, leaving food orders and grocery deliveries on door steps.

—Dawson White

b

: relating to or being a technological system (as for making payments) where information is transmitted over short distances (as by near field communication) without physical contact

… hold your phone in front of the contactless payment scanner to authorize the purchase.

—Robert Patrick

Contactless payment cards are not in wide circulation. Instead, consumers are increasingly making electronic payments with their cellular phones …

—Chad Bray and Reuben Kyama

Examples of contactless in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Technology: Enabling The Credit Union Model Like their larger financial competitors, credit unions are adopting advanced technologies to deliver enhanced services and new capabilities, such as digital wallet services and contactless payment options. —Christine Blake, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025

The base is cashless, so bring a contactless payment method for the café and gift shop. —Alexandra Gillespie, Outside Online, 28 Apr. 2025

Although the world has embraced contactless payments, some markets still use cash. —Gregory Robinson, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2025

Additionally, carefully review app permissions and avoid granting unnecessary access, particularly to sensitive data like NFC, location or personal contacts. 3) Turn off NFC when not in use: NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a useful feature that allows contactless payments and data exchanges. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for contactless

• abs
• acquiesce
• ancestress
• authoress
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless