Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The inherent property or force by which bodies shrink or contract; more specifically, in physiology, the property which belongs to muscles of contracting under appropriate stimuli.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or property by which bodies shrink or contract.
  • noun (Physiol.) The power possessed by the fibers of living muscle of contracting or shortening.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The condition of being able to contract or shrink (used especially of muscles)
  • noun The extent to which something contracts or shrinks
  • noun A term used in physiology to describe the performance of cardiac muscle

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the capability or quality of shrinking or contracting, especially by muscle fibers and even some other forms of living matter

Etymologies

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