contingent
noun/kənˈtɪndʒənt/
/kənˈtɪndʒənt/
[countable + singular or plural verb]- a group of people at a meeting or an event who have something in common, especially the place they come from, that is not shared by other people at the event
- The largest contingent was from the United States.
- A strong contingent of local residents were there to block the proposal.
Extra Examples- a strong contingent from Camberwell Art School
- A seven-strong French diplomatic contingent arrived in the capital city yesterday.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- large
- strong
- substantial
- …
- lead
- send
- contingent from
- contingent of
- a group of soldiers that are part of a larger force
- The French contingent in the UN peacekeeping force withdrew.
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictc2- a large contingent of American troops
- Many large cities provided substantial contingents for the war effort.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- large
- strong
- substantial
- …
- lead
- send
- contingent from
- contingent of
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘of uncertain occurrence’): from Latin contingere ‘befall’, from con- ‘together with’ + tangere ‘to touch’. The noun sense was originally ‘something happening by chance’, then ‘a person's share resulting from a division, a quota’; the current sense dates from the early 18th cent.
Check pronunciation:
contingent