Noun

1. a conditional response plan made in preparation for various future circumstances including the unanticipated.
2. The quality of being contingent; unpredictability.
3. A possibility; something which may or may not happen.
4. An amount of money which a party to a contract has to pay to the other party (usually the supplier of a major project to the client) if he or she does not fulfil the contract according to the specification.