查阅Merriam-Webster词典可发现，“contract”作及物动词时表示的第一个含义就是“to bring on oneself especially inadvertently: incur”，并且下面列举的相关短语就是“contracting debts”，由此可知，“contract debts”应与“incur debts”表示同样的含义，即“招致债务”“负债”等。

例句：

原文：

The General Assembly may (1) contract debts to suppress insurrection, repel invasion, or defend the Commonwealth in time of war; (2) contract debts, or may authorize the Governor to contract debts, to meet casual deficits in the revenue or in anticipation of the collection of revenues of the Commonwealth for the then current fiscal year within the amount of authorized appropriations, provided that the total of such indebtedness shall not exceed thirty per centum of an amount equal to 1.15 times the average annual tax revenues of the Commonwealth derived from taxes on income and retail sales, as certified by the Auditor of Public Accounts, for the preceding fiscal year and that each such debt shall mature within twelve months from the date such debt is incurred; and (3) contract debts to redeem a previous debt obligation of the Commonwealth.

（来源：《弗吉尼亚州宪法》第十条第9节）

译文：

弗吉尼亚州议会可以(1)通过招致债务镇压叛乱、击退入侵或在战时保卫弗吉尼亚州；(2)通过招致债务，或授权弗吉尼亚州州长招致债务，弥补偶尔出现的收入赤字或预期弗吉尼亚州在当前财政年度征收的税收在批准的拨款数额范围内，前提是该等债务总额不得超过上一财政年度经公共账目审计师证明的弗吉尼亚州从所得税和零售税中获得的平均年税收收入1.15倍的百分之三十，并且每个债务应自发生之日起十二个月内到期；以及(3)通过招致债务偿还弗吉尼亚州先前的债务。