contact

1 noun

1 COMMUNICATION (U) communication with a person, organization, country etc

(+ with): He's not had any contact with his son for months. (+ between): There is very little contact between the two tribes. | be/get/stay in contact (with): We stay in contact with each other by telephone. | make/lose contact with (=succeed in communicating or stop communicating with someone): I've lost contact with most of my school friends. | put sb in contact (with) (=make it possible for someone to communicate with another person by giving them that person's address or telephone number): Sarah put me in contact with an expert in the field.

2 TOUCH (U) a state in which two people or things touch each other

(+ with): Children need close physical contact and interaction with a caring adult. (+ between): This disease is spread by contact between the animals. | in contact (with): For a second, his hand was in contact with mine. | come into contact (with): She screamed as her body came into contact with the water. | on contact (with) (=at the moment of touching something): The bomb exploded on contact with the ground. | contact points/area/surfaces etc: The contact points of the two surfaces must be clean and dry.

3 come into contact with sb to meet someone: Diana dazzled everyone who came into contact with her.

4 PERSON WHO CAN HELP (C) a person you know who may be able to help you or give you advice about something: He has a lot of contacts in the media.

5 SITUATION/PROBLEM (U) experience of dealing with a particular kind of situation or problem: bring sb into contact with sth: Pat's job brought her into contact with the problems people face when they retire.

6 point of contact

a) a place that you go to or a person that you meet when dealing with an organization: Primary health care teams are the first point of contact for users of the health service.

b) a way in which two very different things are connected: It's difficult to find a point of contact between theory and practice.

7 ELECTRICAL PART (C) an electrical part that completes a circuit (4) when it touches another part

8 EYES (C) a contact lens

-see also: eye contact eye 1 (9) 2 verb (T) to write to or telephone someone: Give the names of two people who can be contacted in case of emergency. 3 adjective (only before noun)

1 a contact number or address is a telephone number or address where someone can be found if necessary: The school requires a contact number for each child.

2 contact explosives or chemicals become active when they touch something: Contact poisons are widely used in pest control.