gentlemen's agreement

or gentleman's agreement

See synonyms for gentlemen's agreement on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an agreement that, although unenforceable at law, is binding as a matter of personal honor.

  2. an unwritten agreement by a socially prominent clique, private club, etc., to discriminate against or refuse to accept members of certain religious, racial, national, or other groups.

Origin of gentlemen's agreement

1
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Words Nearby gentlemen's agreement

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for gentlemen's agreement

gentlemen's agreement

noun
  1. a personal understanding or arrangement based on honour and not legally binding

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012