Contingency Noun - Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation And Usage Notes

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Definition of contingency noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

contingency noun  /kənˈtɪndʒənsi/  /kənˈtɪndʒənsi/[countable, uncountable] (plural contingencies) jump to other results

1. an event that may or may not happen; the fact that events are not certain synonym possibility
   • We must consider all possible contingencies.
   • to make contingency plans (= plans for what to do if a particular event happens or does not happen)
   • a contingency fund (= to pay for something that might happen in the future)
   • The contingency of life is part of the human condition.
   Oxford Collocations DictionaryContingency is used before these nouns:
   • fee
   • fund
   • plan
   • …
   See full entry

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2. a sum of money that you keep for additional payments
   • What's the contingency for legal fees?
   Topics Moneyc2
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the philosophical sense): from late Latin contingentia (in its medieval Latin sense ‘circumstance’), from contingere ‘befall’, from con- ‘together with’ + tangere ‘to touch’.

See contingency in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee contingency in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishCheck pronunciation: contingency

Other results

All matches

• contingency fee noun
• contingency fees

Nearby words

• continental shelf noun
• continental slope noun
• contingency noun
• contingency fee noun
• contingent noun

bungle verb From the Topic Difficulty and failure C2 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day