Meaning & use
physical contact
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The act of touching or being touched by another person or thing.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun; it rarely takes 'a' or a plural. Say 'avoid physical contact', not 'avoid a physical contact'.
Patterns
- avoid physical contact
- make physical contact with someone
- physical contact between people
The teacher said there should be no physical contact between students during the game.
The virus can spread through physical contact with an infected person.
After months of talking online, they finally met and enjoyed the physical contact of a hug.
noununcountabletechnical
The state of two things touching each other, especially in science or engineering.
Grammar: Still uncountable, but common in technical descriptions of surfaces or objects touching.
Patterns
- come into physical contact with something
- physical contact between surfaces
The electrical wire must not come into physical contact with water.
In the experiment, the two metals were kept in physical contact to allow heat to pass.
Common combinations
- avoid physical contact
- Doctors advised people to avoid physical contact during the flu season.
- make physical contact with
- The ball made physical contact with the player's arm, so the referee gave a penalty.
- no physical contact
- The sport is known for having no physical contact between players.
- through physical contact
- Some diseases spread through physical contact rather than through the air.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- physically adverb
- In a way that involves the body; e.g., 'physically demanding work'.
Commonly confused: physical contact or personal contact?
physical contact vs personal contact
Personal contact often means direct communication with someone, not necessarily touching. Physical contact always involves the body touching.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'physical contact' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural. 'The rules forbid physical contact' is correct; the others wrongly add 'a' or use 'contacts'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “physical contact”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.