a possible event or occurrence or result
"The company set aside emergency funds to cover any financial contingency that might arise from market shifts."
the state of being contingent on something
"The success of the project is entirely a contingency upon securing additional funding next month."
The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance; unpredictability.
"The success of the entire project depended on a degree of contingency that no one could have predicted."
In plain English: A contingency is an unexpected event that might happen and needs to be planned for just in case it does occur.
"The travel agency had arranged for an extra ticket in case the flight was cancelled due to unforeseen contingency plans."
Usage: Use contingency to refer specifically to an unexpected event or circumstance that requires planning ahead, rather than the general concept of randomness. It is often paired with phrases like "contingency plan" when discussing preparations for potential future risks.
The word contingency entered English in the 16th century from the French term contingent combined with the suffix -cy. It originally carried the meaning of something that is dependent on or subject to a particular condition.