Added 9 October 2026
contingency
/kənˈtɪnd͡ʒənsi/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about contingency at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
- A possibility; something which may or may not happen. A chance occurrence, especially in finance, unexpected expenses.
- An amount of money which a party to a contract has to pay to the other party (usually the supplier of a major project to the client) if they do not fulfill the contract according to the specification.
Origin
From contingence + -y (16th century).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)