Definition

1. Verb (Transitive):
   • To formally arrange for a person or company outside one's own organization to perform a specific job or provide a service. This involves creating a legal agreement (contract) for the work.
   • To formally refuse, as a member of a union, to allow a portion of one's dues to be used for political purposes, as provided for in certain labor agreements.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Transitive):
  • The company decided to contract out its catering services to a local firm.
  • To save costs, they contracted the IT support out.
  • Many union members chose to contract out of the political fund.

Advanced Usage

• The action of using external providers is often called "contracting out" (noun form).
  • The contracting out of public services is a controversial topic.
• The opposite action is to "bring in-house" or "insource."

Variants and Related Words

• Outsource (verb): A very close synonym for the first meaning of "contract out," specifically meaning to obtain goods or services from an external source.
• Subcontract (verb): To hire a third party to perform part of the work of a main contract.
• Contractor (noun): The person or company that is hired to do the work.

Synonyms

• For assigning work externally: outsource, farm out, subcontract.
• For refusing the political levy: opt out (of the political fund).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Contract in (verb): The opposite action in a union context; to choose to pay the political portion of union dues.
  • New members must decide whether to contract in or contract out.

Notes on Different Meanings

The two primary meanings of "contract out" operate in completely different contexts: 1. Business/Commerce Context: Refers to the common practice of hiring external specialists. 2. Labor Union Context: Refers to a specific legal provision in some countries (like the UK) allowing union members to opt out of the political portion of their membership fees.

Verb

1. refuse to pay a levy to a union for political use
2. assign a job to someone outside one's own business