con·tact (k n t kt )n.1. a. A coming together or touching, as of objects or surfaces. b. The state or condition of touching or of immediate proximity: Litmus paper turns red on contact with an acid. 2. a. Connection or interaction; communication: still in contact with my former employer. b. Visual observation: The pilot made contact with the ship. c. Association; relationship: came into contact with new ideas at college. 3. A person who might be of use; a connection: The reporter met with her contact at the mayor's office. 4. a. A connection between two conductors that permits a flow of current or heat. b. A part or device that makes or breaks such a connection. 5. Medicine A person recently exposed to a contagious disease, usually through close association with an infected individual. 6. A contact lens. v.tr.1. To bring or put in contact. 2. To get in touch with; communicate with: "This past January I was contacted by a lawyer who said he needed my help" Elizabeth Loftus. v.intr. To be in or come into contact. adj.1. Of, sustaining, or making contact. 2. Caused or transmitted by touching: a contact skin rash.
[Latin cont ctus, from past participle of contingere, to touch, from past participle of contingere, to touch : com-, com- + tangere, to touch; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]
con·tactu·al (k n-tkch -l) adj. con·tactu·al·ly adv. Usage Note: The verb contact is a classic example of a verb that was made from a noun and of a new usage that was initially frowned upon. The noun meaning "the state or condition of touching" was introduced in 1626 by Francis Bacon. Some 200 years later it spawned a verb meaning "to bring or place in contact." This sense of the verb has lived an unremarkable life in technical contexts. It was only in the first quarter of the 20th century that contact came to be used to mean "to communicate with," and soon afterward the controversy began. Contact was declared to be properly a noun, not a verb, and moreover to be vague when used as a verb. However, turning nouns into verbs is one of the most frequent ways in which new verbs enter English. Sometimes there is resistance to such verbs, but often, especially when a term seems free of association with the jargon of business or bureaucracy, acceptance comes more freely, as with curb, date, elbow, interview, panic, and park. Contact is but another instance of what linguists call functional shift from one part of speech to another. As for the vagueness of contact, this seems a virtue in an age in which forms of communication have proliferated. The sentence We will contact you when the part comes in allows for a variety of possible ways to communicate: by mail, telephone, computer, or fax.·Despite the lengthy history of disapproval of contact by language critics, the verb's usefulness and popularity appear to have worn down resistance to it. In 1969, only 34 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the use of contact as a verb, but in a recent survey 65 percent of the Panel accepted it in the sentence She immediately called an officer at the Naval Intelligence Service, who in turn contacted the FBI. See Usage Note at impact. |
contact Noun 1. the state or act of communication: the airport lost contact with the plane shortly before the crash 2. the state or act of touching: rugby is a game of hard physical contact 3. an acquaintance who might be useful in business 4. a connection between two electrical conductors in a circuit 5. a person who has been exposed to a contagious disease Verb to come or be in communication or touch with [Latin contingere to touch on all sides]
contact (kntkt)1. Electricity a. A connection between two conductors that allows an electric current to flow. b. A part or device that makes or breaks a connection in an electrical circuit. 2. Geology The place where two different types of rock, or rocks of different ages, come together. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  contact - close interaction; "they kept in daily contact"; "they claimed that they had been in contact with extraterrestrial beings"interaction - a mutual or reciprocal action; interacting brush - contact with something dangerous or undesirable; "I had a brush with danger on my way to work"; "he tried to avoid any brushes with the police" eye contact - contact that occurs when two people look directly at each other; "a teacher should make eye contact with the students" placement - contact established between applicants and prospective employees; "the agency provided placement services" | | 2. | contact - the act of touching physically; "her fingers came in contact with the light switch"touching, touch - the act of putting two things together with no space between them; "at his touch the room filled with lights" wipe, rub - the act of rubbing or wiping; "he gave the hood a quick rub" 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; "peonies can be blighted by the laying on of a finger" | | 3. | contact - the state or condition of touching or of being in immediate proximity; "litmus paper turns red on contact with an acid"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 | | 4. |  contact - the physical coming together of two or more things; "contact with the pier scraped paint from the hull"collision, hit - (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together; "the collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction" flick - a light sharp contact (usually with something flexible); "he gave it a flick with his finger"; "he felt the flick of a whip" impact - the striking of one body against another touch, touching - the event of something coming in contact with the body; "he longed for the touch of her hand"; "the cooling touch of the night air" | | 5. | contact - a person who is in a position to give you special assistance; "he used his business contacts to get an introduction to the governor" | | 6. | contact - a channel for communication between groups; "he provided a liaison with the guerrillas"communication channel, channel, line - (often plural) a means of communication or access; "it must go through official channels"; "lines of communication were set up between the two firms" | | 7. | contact - (electronics) a junction where things (as two electrical conductors) touch or are in physical contact; "they forget to solder the contacts"p-n junction - the junction between a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor; "a p-n junction has marked rectifying characteristics" short circuit, short - accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference sound bow - contact (the part of a bell) against which the clapper strikes terminal, pole - a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves tread - the part (as of a wheel or shoe) that makes contact with the ground contact arm, wiper arm, wiper - contact consisting of a conducting arm that rotates over a series of fixed contacts and comes to rest on an outlet electronics - the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices | | 8. |  contact - a communicative interaction; "the pilot made contact with the base"; "he got in touch with his colleagues"communicating, communication - the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information; "they could not act without official communication from Moscow" | | 9. |  contact - a thin curved glass or plastic lens designed to fit over the cornea in order to correct vision or to deliver medicationlens, lens system, lense - a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images | | Verb | 1. | contact - be in or establish communication with; "Our advertisements reach millions"; "He never contacted his children after he emigrated to Australia"ping - send a message from one computer to another to check whether it is reachable and active; "ping your machine in the office" ping - contact, usually in order to remind of something; "I'll ping my accountant--April 15 is nearing" raise - establish radio communications with; "They managed to raise Hanoi last night" | | 2. |  contact - be in direct physical contact with; make contact; "The two buildings touch"; "Their hands touched"; "The wire must not contact the metal cover"; "The surfaces contact at this point"cling, cohere, adhere, cleave, stick - come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation; "The dress clings to her body"; "The label stuck to the box"; "The sushi rice grains cohere" attach - be attached; be in contact with hug - fit closely or tightly; "The dress hugged her hips" converge, meet - be adjacent or come together; "The lines converge at this point" |
contact verb 4. get or be in touch with, call, reach, approach, phone, ring (up) ( informal), chiefly Brit. write to, speak to, communicate with, get hold of, touch base with U.S., Canad. ( informal)
1. In air intercept, a term meaning, "Unit has an unevaluated target." 2. In health services, an unevaluated individual who is known to have been sufficiently near an infected individual to have been exposed to the transfer of infectious material.
 Translations contact [ˈkɔntækt] n → contacto; contact lenses npl → lentes fpl de contacto; business contacts → relaciones fpl comerciales
 contact [ˈkɔntækt] n → contact m (= person); connaissance f, relation fbusiness contacts → relations fpl d'affaires, contacts mpl
 contact [ˈkɔntækt] n → Kontakt m; (person) → Kontaktperson f business contacts → Geschäftsverbindungen pl
 contact [ˈkɔntækt] n → contatto; business contacts → contatti mpl d'affari
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