contact
(Old-fashioned)
[noun]
Synonyms:
- communication, association, connection
- touch, contiguity
- acquaintance, connection
[verb]
Synonyms:
- get or be in touch with, approach, call, communicate with, reach, speak to, write to

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Contrasted words: breach, break, rift, rupture, split, insularity, isolation, seclusion, segregation, separation, distance, farness, remoteness
Related Words: closeness, contiguity, nearness, propinquity, proximity, impingement, taction, touching, association, connection, relation, oneness, union, unity, companionship, fellowship, accord, concord, harmony, rapport, empathy, sympathy, understanding

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English Thesaurus: communicate, contact, get in touch (with somebody), get hold of somebody, approach, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. con‧tact¹ S2 W2 AC /ˈkɒntækt $ ˈkɑːn-/ noun
[Word Family: adjective: contact, contactable; verb: contact; noun: contact]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: Latin contactus, from the past participle of contigere; ⇒ contingent¹]

1. COMMUNICATION [uncountable] communication with a person, organization, country etc
contact with/between
There is very little contact between the two tribes.
Many of us have no direct contact with elderly people.
in contact
We stay in contact by email.
The town is cut off from contact with the outside world.

2. TOUCH [uncountable] when two people or things touch each other
contact with/between
Children need physical contact with a caring adult.
The disease spreads by sexual contact between infected animals.
in contact with something
For a second, his hand was in contact with mine.
When water comes into contact with air, carbon dioxide is released.
on contact (with something)
The bomb exploded on contact (=at the moment it touched something).

3. EXPERIENCE [uncountable] when you meet someone or experience a particular kind of thing:
Everyone who came into contact with Di felt better for knowing her.
Pat’s job brings her into contact with the problems people face when they retire.

4. PERSON [countable usually plural] a person you know who may be able to help or advise you:
He has a lot of contacts in the media.
a worldwide network of contacts
business/personal contacts

5. contacts [plural] a situation in which you can communicate easily with a group, country etc
contacts with/between
We have good contacts with the local community.
He goes to great lengths to maintain these contacts.
the establishment of diplomatic contacts

6. point of contact
a) a place you go to or a person you meet when you ask an organization for help
first/initial point of contact
Primary health care teams are the first point of contact for users of the service.
b) a way in which two different things are related:
finding a point of contact between theory and practice
c) the part of something where another thing touches it:
The sting causes swelling at the point of contact.

7. ELECTRICAL [countable] an electrical part that completes a circuit when it touches another part

8. EYES [countable] informal a contact lens
⇒ eye contact at eye¹(5)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. contact² S2 W2 AC verb [transitive]
[Word Family: adjective: contact, contactable; verb: contact; noun: contact]
to write to or telephone someone:
Give the names of two people who can be contacted in an emergency.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.
—contactable adjective [not before noun]:
A mobile phone makes you contactable wherever you are.

REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say get in touch with someone rather than contact someone:
Is there a number where I can get in touch with you?

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. contact³ AC adjective [only before noun]
[Word Family: adjective: contact, contactable; verb: contact; noun: contact]

1. contact number/address/details a telephone number or address where someone can be found if necessary:
If you are babysitting, make sure you have a contact number for the parents.

2. contact explosives or chemicals become active when they touch something:
contact poisons

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

contact
noun
I. meeting/talking/writing to sb
ADJ. close She is still in close contact with Sarah.
regular | direct Have you had any direct contact with the director of the company?
face-to-face
VERB + CONTACT be in, have | come into, establish, get in, make In his job, he comes into contact with many different people. We first established contact with the organization in 1999. When I arrive in New York, I'll get in contact with him.
put sb in I put my cousin in contact with a friend who works at the company.
keep, maintain, stay in Maintaining contact after many years can be difficult.
break off | lose
PREP. ~ between There has been no contact between them for several years.
~ with I have very little contact with Simon now.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contact
II. person you know who can help you
ADJ. good, useful, valuable | business, personal
VERB + CONTACT have He has a lot of good contacts in the music industry.
build up, make It takes time to build up contacts. I made a lot of useful business contacts at the conference.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contact
III. when people/things touch each other
ADJ. physical, sexual The disease is transmitted through physical contact.
VERB + CONTACT come into Do not let the glue come into contact with water.
PREP. in ~ For a brief moment their lips were in contact.
on ~ The light will go out on contact with water.
~ between There should be no contact between the separate samples.
~ with

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contact
verb
ADV. immediately | directly | personally | by email, by phone/telephone He can be contacted by phone on the telephone number given below.
PHRASES do not hesitate to contact sb Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contact

have contact with somebody
I haven’t had any contact with her for at least two years.
be in contact (=have regular communication)
He’s been in contact with his lawyer about the situation.
get in contact (=manage to communicate)
Where can I get in contact with you while you are away?
stay/keep in contact (also maintain contact formal)
We’ve stayed in contact since we met on holiday.
lose contact (=no longer see someone or hear from them)
She went to live in Australia and I lost contact with her.
make contact
We’d like to make contact with other schools in the area.
put somebody in contact with somebody (=give someone the name, telephone number etc of another person)
I can put you in contact with a friend of mine in Paris.
come into contact with somebody (=meet or spend time with somebody)
It’s good to come into contact with people from different cultures.
bring somebody into contact with somebody
The job brought me into contact with a lot of interesting people.
establish contact
The police are trying to establish contact with the kidnappers.
avoid contact
She doesn’t give interviews and avoids contact with the media.
sever contact with somebody (=refuse to have any contact with someone)
After the divorce, she severed all contact with her husband.
direct contact (=spending time with somebody)
Our volunteers work in direct contact with people who need help.
close contact (=communicating with somebody often)
I like to stay in close contact with my parents.
personal contact (=seeing and speaking to somebody personally)
She never comes into personal contact with senior managers.
social/human contact (=spending time with other people)
He lived alone and had little human contact.
regular contact
All students have regular contact with their tutor.
day-to-day/daily contact
I like my job because it involves day-to-day contact with clients.
face-to-face contact (=talking to someone who is with you)
Certain types of jobs do not need face-to-face contact.
one-to-one contact (=being with only one other person)
Children with learning difficulties may need one-to-one contact.
radio contact (=communication by radio)
Air traffic control had lost radio contact with the pilot.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

contact
verb
BAD: You can contact with me any evening after six.
GOOD: You can contact me any evening after six.

Usage Note:
contact sb (WITHOUT with ): 'Unless we have an address or phone number, we can't contact them.'
Compare: 'Mrs Lewis phoned and would like you to get in touch with her.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

communicate verb [intransitive and transitive] to exchange information or have a conversation with someone, by telephone, letter etc, or by seeing them:
Now that we live in different cities, we communicate by e-mail.
He is able to communicate using a special keyboard, which is connected to a computer.
This message is not being communicated to staff.
contact verb [transitive] to write to, phone, or email someone especially for the first time, in order to give or ask for information:
Neighbours contacted police after seeing a man with a gun.
She refused to comment when contacted by reporters from the local newspaper.
get in touch (with somebody) to write to, telephone, or email someone, especially someone who you do not see very often:
I really ought to get in touch with Paula. It's been months since we last spoke.
You've got my phone number if you need to get in touch.
get hold of somebody to succeed in contacting someone by telephone after trying several times:
Where have you been? I've been trying to get hold of you all week.
It's no use trying to phone Linda at work – she's impossible to get hold of.
approach verb [transitive] to contact someone that you do not know or have not contacted before, in order to offer them something or ask them for something:
He has already been approached by several professional football teams.
The company confirmed that it had been approached about a merger.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲