Something that might happen but is not certain, often a problem or emergency. People make contingency plans to be ready if these possible events occur.
From Latin *contingentia* 'a touching, happening', from *contingere* 'to touch, befall, happen'. It shifted from the idea of something 'touching' your life to something that might suddenly happen to you.
When businesses talk about 'contingency plans,' they’re basically saying, 'What if everything goes sideways—then what?' Philosophers also use 'contingent' to mean 'could have been otherwise,' the opposite of fixed or necessary. So a contingency is reality’s way of saying, 'Don’t get too comfortable.'
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