1. capable of being made smaller by drawing together; able to shrink
2. capable of being acquired or caught (especially of a disease)
Usage: medical
3. capable of being reduced to a point without changing essential properties
Usage: mathematics; topology

Examples

• The balloon is contractible when the air is released.
• Muscle fibers are contractible tissues that enable movement.
• The disease is highly contractible in crowded conditions.
• Malaria is contractible through mosquito bites.
• In topology, a contractible space can be continuously shrunk to a point.
• The rubber band is contractible and will return to its original size.