agreement

[uh-gree-muhnt]

noun

1. the act of agreeing or of coming to a mutual arrangement.

2. the state of being in accord.

3. an arrangement that is accepted by all parties to a transaction.

   Synonyms: concurrence, accord, understanding

4. a contract or other document delineating such an arrangement.

5. unanimity of opinion; harmony in feeling.

   agreement among the members of the faculty.

6. Grammar.,  correspondence in number, case, gender, person, or some other formal category between syntactically connected words, especially between one or more subordinate words and the word or words upon which they depend; selection by one word of the matching formal subclass, or category, in another word syntactically construed with the first.

7. collective agreement.

8. Law.

   1. an expression of assent by two or more parties to the same object.

   2. the phraseology, written or oral, of an exchange of promises.

   Synonyms: pact, treaty, settlement

agreement

/ əˈɡriːmənt /

noun

1. the act of agreeing

2. a settlement, esp one that is legally enforceable; covenant; treaty

3. a contract or document containing such a settlement

4. the state of being of the same opinion; concord; harmony

5. the state of being similar or consistent; correspondence; conformity

6. Also called: concord. grammar the determination of the inflectional form of one word by some grammatical feature, such as number or gender, of another word, esp one in the same sentence

7. See collective agreement national agreement

agreement

1. A requirement for parts of a sentence in standard written English; the parts must agree, for example, in number and person. The subject and verb of a clause or simple sentence must agree in person, as in “He is a boy.” The subject, he, and the verb, is, are both in the third person. The subject and verb also must agree in number, as in “We are girls.” The subject, we, and the verb, are, are both plural. Nouns and pronouns must also agree in number, person, and gender as in “Every boy must mind his manners.” The noun boy and the pronoun his are both singular, both in the third person, and both masculine.

Other Word Forms

• interagreement noun
• nonagreement noun
• preagreement noun
• proagreement adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of agreement¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English agrement, from Middle French, equivalent to agree + -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of agreement¹

C14: from Old French

Synonym Study

Agreement, bargain, compact, contract all suggest a binding arrangement between two or more parties. Agreement ranges in meaning from mutual understanding to binding obligation. Bargain applies particularly to agreements about buying and selling but also to haggling over terms in an agreement. Compact applies to treaties or alliances between nations or to solemn personal pledges. Contract is used especially in law and business for such agreements as are legally enforceable.

Example Sentences

Financial terms of the agreement were not released but it will likely make her among the best-paid players in the NWSL.

From Los Angeles Times

He revealed he was planning to have lunch with the Albanian prime minister to discuss possible migrant returns agreements.

From BBC

Unless the Blues and Sterling reach an agreement over a severance package for the £30m remaining on his contract, the earliest we are likely to see the England international play first-team football again is January.

From BBC

Following the roundtable, Takano and Sherman said they are working on legislation that would increase transparency, prohibit nondisclosure agreements and address the issues raised by veterans.

From Los Angeles Times

It formalises an agreement, which was announced in July, to apply a 15% levy to almost all Japanese exports to the US - including vehicles and pharmaceuticals.

From BBC

Related Words

• approval 
• arrangement 
• charter 
• compromise 
• covenant 
• deal 
• lease 
• negotiation 
• pact 
• protocol 
• settlement 
• transaction 
• understanding 

When To Use

What is a basic definition of agreement?

Agreement is the state or act of agreeing, meaning coming to a mutually approved arrangement. Agreement is also used to mean a deal in which all parties accept the conditions or a unity of opinion. Agreement has several other senses as a noun.Agreement is the noun form of the verb agree, which means to be in harmony of feeling or opinion. Agreement, then, means the act of agreeing or a condition in which all people are content with a situation or what they must do. The opposite of agreement is disagreement.

• Used in a sentence: I thought Jack’s plan was good and nodded my head in agreement with everything he said. 

In a similar sense, an agreement is a deal or arrangement in which all parties accept the terms. An agreement can be an unspoken pact or an actual legal document that has punishments if it isn’t followed.

• Real-life examples: In a trade agreement between the United States and Canada, both countries must approve of what they sell to each other. You might come to an agreement with your friends to split the cost of a dinner. When renting a car, a customer will sign a rental agreement that outlines how much they will pay the lender if the car is damaged.



• Used in a sentence: The United Nations negotiated a peace agreement between the two warring countries.