3 VERB [no cont] If writing, speech, or film contains particular information, ideas, or images, it includes them. □ [V n] This sheet contained a list of problems a patient might like to raise with the doctor. □ [V n] The two discs also contain two of Britten's lesser-known song-cycles.
4 VERB [no cont] If a group or organization contains a certain number of people, those are the people that are in it. □ [V n] The committee contains 11 Democrats and nine Republicans.
5 VERB If you contain something, you control it and prevent it from spreading or increasing. □ [V n] More than a hundred firefighters are still trying to contain the fire at the plant.
6 VERB If you cannot contain a feeling such as excitement or anger, or if you cannot contain yourself , you cannot prevent yourself from showing your feelings. □ [V pron-refl] He was bursting with curiosity and just couldn't contain himself. □ [V n] Evans could barely contain his delight: 'I'm so proud of her,' he said.
7 → see also self-contained SYNONYMS contain VERB 1
hold: The small bottles don't seem to hold much.
include: The list includes many British internationals.
accommodate: The school was not big enough to accommodate all the children.
enclose: Enclose the pot in a clear polythene bag.
con|tain|er /kənte I nə r / (containers )
1 N‑COUNT A container is something such as a box or bottle that is used to hold or store things in. □ …the plastic containers in which fish are stored and sold.
2 N‑COUNT A container is a very large metal or wooden box used for transporting goods so that they can be loaded easily onto ships and lorries.
con|tai n|er ship (container ships ) N‑COUNT A container ship is a ship that is designed for carrying goods that are packed in large metal or wooden boxes.
con|tain|ment /kənte I nmənt/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Containment is the action or policy of keeping another country's power or area of control within acceptable limits or boundaries.
2 N‑UNCOUNT The containment of something dangerous or unpleasant is the act or process of keeping it under control within a particular area or place. □ [+ of ] Fire crews are hoping they can achieve full containment of the fire before the winds pick up.
con|tami|nant /kəntæ m I nənt/ (contaminants ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] A contaminant is something that contaminates a substance such as water or food. [FORMAL ] □ Contaminants found in poultry will also be found in their eggs.
con|tami|nate /kəntæ m I ne I t/ (contaminates , contaminating , contaminated ) VERB If something is contaminated by waste, dirt, chemicals, or radiation, it is made dirty or harmful. □ [be V -ed] Have any fish been contaminated in the Arctic Ocean? □ [V -ed] …vast tracts of empty land, much of it contaminated by years of army activity. [Also V n] ● con|tami|nat|ed ADJ □ [+ with ] Nuclear weapons plants across the country are heavily contaminated with toxic wastes. □ More than 100,000 people could fall ill after drinking contaminated water. ● con|tami|na|tion /kəntæ m I ne I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the contamination of the ocean by plastic.
con|tem|plate /kɒ ntəmple I t/ (contemplates , contemplating , contemplated )
1 VERB If you contemplate an action, you think about whether to do it or not. □ [V n] For a time he contemplated a career as an army medical doctor. □ [V v-ing] She contemplates leaving for the sake of the kids.
2 VERB If you contemplate an idea or subject, you think about it carefully for a long time. □ [V n] As he lay in his hospital bed that night, he cried as he contemplated his future. ● con|tem|pla|tion /kɒ ntəmple I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ It is a place of quiet contemplation.
3 VERB If you contemplate something or someone, you look at them for a long time. □ [V n] He contemplated his hands, still frowning. ● con|tem|pla|tion N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] He was lost in the contemplation of the landscape for a while.
con|tem|pla|tive /kənte mplət I v/ ADJ Someone who is contemplative thinks deeply, or is thinking in a serious and calm way. □ Martin is a quiet, contemplative sort of chap.
con|tem|po|ra|neous /kənte mpəre I niəs/ ADJ If two events or situations are contemporaneous , they happen or exist during the same period of time. [FORMAL ] □ No recording or contemporaneous note was made of the conversation with Mr Diamond.
con|tem|po|rary ◆◇◇ /kənte mpərəri, [AM ] -pəreri/ (contemporaries )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Contemporary things are modern and relate to the present time. □ They wanted traditional music; he felt more contemporary music would aid outreach. □ Only the names are ancient; the characters are modern and contemporary.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Contemporary people or things were alive or happened at the same time as something else you are talking about. □ …drawing upon official records and the reports of contemporary witnesses.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Someone's contemporary is a person who is or was alive at the same time as them. □ Like most of my contemporaries, I grew up in a vastly different world. SYNONYMS contemporary ADJ 1
modern: …the problem of materialism in modern society.
current: Current thinking suggests that toxins only have a small part to play.
up-to-date: …Germany's most up-to-date electric power station.