0 a plan that is made for dealing with an emergency, or with something that might possibly happen and cause problems in the future:
a contingency plan for sth/doing sth Companies wishing to apply for a hazardous waste transporter license must submit a contingency plan for responding to any type of incident.
a contingency plan to do sth This is part of a three-month contingency plan to bring a year-long unofficial strike by maintenance staff to an end.
The management stated that a contingency plan was in place for dealing with such emergencies.
to make/draw up a contingency plan