n. [ L. contactus, fr. contingere, -tactum, to touch on all sides. See Contingent. ] 1. A close union or junction of bodies; a touching or meeting. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. (Geom.) The property of two curves, or surfaces, which meet, and at the point of meeting have a common direction. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. (Mining) The plane between two adjacent bodies of dissimilar rock. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. (Electricity) A metallic conducting component of an electrical device connected to a circuit within and so situated that it may form a conducting pathway to an external power source or device when contacted by another conductor; as, the contact on a standard light bulb has the shape of a screw for easy insertion into the socket. [ PJC ] 5. A person who serves to commmunicate information to or from one group to another, whether formally or informally; as, a good Washington reporter has contacts in the White House. [ PJC ]
Contact level, a delicate level so pivoted as to tilt when two parts of a measuring apparatus come into contact with each other; -- used in precise determinations of lengths and in the accurate graduation of instruments. [ 1913 Webster ]
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