pact

American  

[pakt] / pækt /

noun

• pacts
  plural

1. an agreement, covenant, or compact.

   We made a pact not to argue any more.

2. an agreement or treaty between two or more nations.

   a pact between Germany and Italy.

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pact British  

/ pækt /

noun

1. an agreement or compact between two or more parties, nations, etc, for mutual advantage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pacts
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of pact

1400–50; late Middle English pact(e) < Middle French < Latin pactum, noun use of neuter of past participle of pacīscī to make a bargain, contract

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Explanation

A pact is a treaty or other agreement between parties, and it's usually written. Countries can have pacts or you can make a pact with your friends, promising each other that you'll all show up for the spelling bee. A pact is a formal agreement. The 1955 Warsaw Pact, for instance, was Eastern Europe's answer to NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), with communist countries pledging mutual aid in case of foreign aggression. You may also come across the word compact, which is pretty much the same as a pact. The word pact comes from the Latin pactum, meaning "something agreed upon." In Roman times, one kind of pact was the marriage pact you signed when you got married.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pact pacts

Here are some of the challenges the trade pact has faced and the road ahead.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

He’s also skeptical of an AI “arms control” pact.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

U.K., and Australia signed a maritime security pact known as AUKUS.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

On Monday, Turkish officials and Pakistan’s foreign and defense ministers and army chief met with their counterparts in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to discuss how to “institutionalize” the pact, according to official statements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Massasoit shepherded his people through the wave of settlement, and the pact he signed with Plymouth lasted for more than fifty years.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Open-skies agreements deregulated airline competition on international routes starting in the 1990s, leading to much cheaper airfares and more international flights from the U.S., said Clifford Winston, a Brookings Institution economist who studied the pacts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Japan has been gradually moving away from its post-World War II pacifist status -- increasing military spending, ramping up defence pacts and deploying missile launchers to its outer islands.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

But these little small pacts start to snowball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

“You will have to wait and see. I have some things in the works,” Greer said in response to a question about the legal authority for the tariffs in the trade pacts.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

And there they are, instantly drawn into one of those pacts you’d be hard-pressed to break if you ever expect to go home and face your district.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

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Related Words

• arrangement
• compact
• contract
• convention
• covenant
• deal
• protocol
• settlement
• transaction
• understanding

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