Pact

pækt

nounmedium📊CommonAgreement
1 meaning1 idiom/phrase2 questions

Definitions

1

A formal agreement; a covenant.

pækt

nounneutralmedium
Agreement

A formal agreement between two or more people or groups.

The countries forged a non-aggression pact.

💡 Simply: Imagine you and your best friend make a super serious promise to always share snacks. A pact is like that promise, but for grown-ups, often written down and involving important stuff like countries or businesses.

👶 For kids: A promise between people or groups, like a secret handshake!

More Examples

2

The labor union and the company reached a new pact.

3

The siblings made a pact to keep their room clean.

How It's Used

Politics

"The two nations signed a peace pact to end the war."

Business

"The companies formed a pact to share resources."

General

"They made a secret pact to always help each other."

Idioms & expressions

make a pact with someone

To agree formally with someone to do something together.

"They made a pact with their neighbors to keep the street clean."

From Latin *pactum* ('agreement, bargain'), past participle of *paciscī* ('to agree, make a deal').

The word 'pact' has been used since the late 14th century, primarily in legal and diplomatic contexts.

Memory tip

Think of 'packed' deals. A pact is a packed agreement.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"agreement, covenant"

sign a pactmake a pactpeace pacttrade pactsecret pact

Common misspellings

pactt

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written