Meaning & use
contacts
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“contacts” is a form of “contact”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
People you know or have details for, especially those who can help you in your work or give you useful information.
Grammar: Plural noun; the singular contact also exists: a useful contact.
Patterns
- contacts in something
- contacts with someone
He has many contacts in the film industry.
I saved all my business contacts on my phone.
She used her contacts at the embassy to get an answer quickly.
nounpluralinformal
Small thin lenses that are worn directly on the eye to correct vision, instead of glasses.
Grammar: Informal short form of contact lenses; usually plural.
Patterns
- wear contacts
- put in contacts
I wear contacts when I play sports.
She took out her contacts before going to bed.
He lost one of his contacts down the sink.
verbtransitive
Gets in touch with someone, usually by phone, email or message, to give or ask for information.
Grammar: Third person singular of contact; takes an object: she contacts the school.
Patterns
- someone contacts someone
- someone contacts someone about something
The nurse contacts every patient the day before the appointment.
If anything goes wrong, he contacts the manager immediately.
Our team contacts customers by email.
Word forms
| singular noun | contact |
|---|
Common combinations
- business contacts
- He built a network of business contacts over the years.
- emergency contacts
- Please list two emergency contacts on the form.
- make contacts
- Conferences are a good place to make contacts.
- wear contacts
- She prefers to wear contacts instead of glasses.
- contacts list
- I deleted old names from my contacts list.
Synonyms and how they differ
- connections
- Connections stresses useful relationships that can open doors, while contacts can simply be people whose details you keep.
- acquaintances
- Acquaintances are people you know only slightly, whereas contacts are often people you keep in touch with for a practical reason.
- network
- Network refers to the whole group of people you know, while contacts can be individual people.
- contact lenses
- Contact lenses is the full and more formal name for the eye sense of contacts.
Word family
- contact noun
- communication or touch, or a person you know
- contact verb
- to reach someone by phone or message
- contactable adjective
- able to be reached
- contactless adjective
- working without touching, such as a card payment
Commonly confused: contacts or contracts?
contacts vs contracts
Contracts are written legal agreements; contacts are people you know or contact lenses.
Practice
A travel writer says: I got the job through my ___ at the magazine.
Choose one answer.
Contacts means people she knows who can help her. Contracts are legal agreements, which does not fit a person at the magazine.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contacts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.