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DictionarypactFormal agreement
noun

pact

PAKT/pækt/

A formal agreement between people, groups, or countries.

The representatives seal their pact with a handshake.

Two adult representatives conclude a formal agreement across a meeting table with a firm handshake, each has a matching plain closed document folder and pen, witnesses stand calmly behind.
Etymology
pactLatinagreement; contract; covenant

Latin pactum named an agreement, contract, or covenant. It was formed from a verb meaning 'to agree or make a treaty,' so a pact names the agreement reached.

In context

The Thinking Muslim19:43
Greece has recently just signed an agreement with the Israelis, a military pact between the two of them over the Mediterranean.
A Muslim NATO? Are Muslim Countries Finally Uniting? | Sami Hamdi

More examples

  • Their pact ended years of border fighting.
  • The neighbors made a pact to maintain the shared driveway.
  • Both sides accused the other of breaking the pact.

Forms

pact · pacts

Similar words

agreement
Broader and often less formal.
treaty
Usually a formal agreement between countries.