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contact
/ˈkɒn.tækt/
communication or connection
Please keep in contact with your team via email.
This means maintaining communication with your team through email.
general
The act of communicating or meeting with someone.
I lost contact with my college friends after graduation.
I stopped communicating with my college friends after graduation.
The company is in contact with potential investors.
The company is communicating with potential investors.
Used for both direct and indirect communication, including phone calls, emails, or meetings.
general
A person you know who can help you professionally or socially.
She has many useful contacts in the fashion industry.
She knows many people who can help her in the fashion industry.
Often used in professional contexts to refer to networking connections.
Engineering
technical
The state of touching or being in physical touch.
The mechanical parts must maintain contact to function properly.
The mechanical parts must physically touch to operate correctly.
Common in engineering and physics to describe physical interaction between objects.
Law
formal
A person who can provide information or assistance in a particular area.
The detective questioned the contact who provided the tip.
The detective questioned the informant who gave the tip.
In legal contexts, often refers to an informant or source of information.
Collocations
keep in contactmaintain communicationlose contactstop communicatingmake contactinitiate communicationemergency contacta person to call in case of an emergency
Antonyms
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Verb vs. Noun
As a verb, 'contact' is transitive (e.g., 'I will contact you'). As a noun, it can be countable (e.g., 'She has many contacts') or uncountable (e.g., 'Keep in contact').
Gold Rule
Formal vs. Informal
In formal writing, prefer 'get in touch' over 'contact' as a verb (e.g., 'Please get in touch with me'). 'Contact' is acceptable in both formal and informal contexts.
Word Origin
From Latin *contactus*, meaning 'a touching, meeting, or joining,' from *contingere* ('to touch, border upon'), from *com-* ('together') + *tangere* ('to touch').
Usage Notes
As a verb, 'contact' is often used transitively (e.g., 'contact someone'). As a noun, it can refer to both the act of communicating and the person involved. In professional settings, 'contact' is frequently used as shorthand for a person (e.g., 'She's a good contact to have').
Word Breakdown
con-
together
prefix-tact
touch
rootEnglish Dictionary