Meanings
- That does not use or require contact in order to happen or operate.
- not comparableusuallyexchangeConducted without human-to-human contact to improve ease of use or reduce the potential spread of a contagious disease; contact-free.
Please stay in touch with me / In this contactless society / Anywhere that you may be
2025, “The Hymn of the North”, in Jarvis Cocker (lyrics), More, performed by Pulp1 more example
Contactless commerce, of which Amazon Go is at the extreme end, was of course already by the autumn of 2019 a growing trend, what with increasing numbers of self-checkout counters and websites and apps that allowed us to have everything from groceries to pet supplies to prescription medication delivered right to our doorsteps.
2020, Noreena Hertz, chapter 5, in The Lonely Century, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN - not comparableHappening without physical contact at the point of sale.
TfL has been saying for a few years that Oyster will eventually be withdrawn, but not until contactless payments can offer railcard discounts.
2019 October 23, Barry Doe, Rail, page 64
- not comparableThat has no contact or contacts.
- uncountableA technology for paying for goods etc. while physically present at the point of interaction but without the need for physical contact.
Even before the coronavirus struck, contactless was starting to become our way of life, our active choice.
2020, Noreena Hertz, chapter 1, in The Lonely Century, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN1 more example
The motivation for using contactless is clear: it is most popular for people in a rush (58 per cent), people with a queue behind them (30 per cent) and those in busy places with lots of people (26 per cent).
2012, Graham Flower, Phil Fawcett, Stuart Harle, Banking: In Search of Relevance: A New Model for a New Reality, page 183
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Englishcontact
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishcontactless
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 無接觸 /无接触
- 無接觸 /无接触 (wújiēchù)not needing contact
Danish kontaktløs
- kontaktløsnot needing contact
German kontaktlos, kontaktfrei
- kontaktlosnot needing contact
- kontaktfreinot needing contact
- berührungslosnot needing contact
Italian contactless
- contactlessnot needing contact
Polish bezdotykowy, bezstykowy
- bezdotykowynot needing contact
- bezstykowynot needing contact
Turkish temassız
- temassıznot needing contact
Welsh digyffwrdd
- digyffwrddnot needing contact
Cite this entry
contactless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contactless
“contactless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contactless. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “contactless,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contactless.
Source: contactless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.