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• covenant
  covenant

  noun

  an agreement or promise, usually formal, between two or more people or groups to do or not do something specified.
• Covenant
  Covenant

  noun

  history any of the bonds entered into by Scottish Presbyterians to defend their religion, esp one in 1638 ( National Covenant ) and one of 1643 ( Solemn League and Covenant )

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Covenant entered English through which language?

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covenant

American  

[kuhv-uh-nuhnt] / ˈkʌv ə nənt /

noun

• covenants
  plural

1. an agreement or promise, usually formal, between two or more people or groups to do or not do something specified.

   Synonyms:

   convention, pact, treaty

2. Law. a secondary clause in a legal contract.

3. Ecclesiastical. a solemn agreement between the members of a Christian church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel.

4. History/Historical. Covenant,

   1. National Covenant.

   2. Solemn League and Covenant.

5. Bible.

   1. any of the promises made by God at different times, such as those made to Noah, Abraham, or David and their descendants, or the new covenant inaugurated by Christ.

   2. the agreement between God and the ancient Israelites, in which God promised to bless and protect them if they faithfully kept the law God gave them.

6. Law.

   1. a formal agreement of legal validity, especially one under seal.

   2. an early English form of lawsuit involving sealed contracts.

7. Covenant of the League of Nations.

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verb (used with object)

• covenants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• covenanted,
  past participle,  past
• covenanting
  present participle

1. to agree or promise, as in a contract or covenant; pledge (usually followed byto ).

   In our marriage vows, we covenanted to take care of each other in all circumstances.

2. to stipulate or specify in a contract.

   The covenanted price has been paid.

verb (used without object)

• covenants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• covenanted,
  past participle,  past
• covenanting
  present participle

1. to enter into an agreement or covenant.

   When we take the pledge, we do not covenant with an institution or with an ideal, but with each other.

covenant ¹ British  

/ ˈkʌvənənt /

noun

1. a binding agreement; contract

2. law

   1. an agreement in writing under seal, as to pay a stated annual sum to a charity

   2. a particular clause in such an agreement, esp in a lease

3. (in early English law) an action in which damages were sought for breach of a sealed agreement

4. Bible God's promise to the Israelites and their commitment to worship him alone

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verb

1. to agree to a covenant (concerning)

Covenant ² British  

/ ˈkʌvənənt /

noun

1. history any of the bonds entered into by Scottish Presbyterians to defend their religion, esp one in 1638 ( National Covenant ) and one of 1643 ( Solemn League and Covenant )

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covenant Cultural  

1. Literally, a contract. In the Bible (see also Bible), an agreement between God and his people, in which God makes promises to his people and, usually, requires certain conduct from them. In the Old Testament, God made agreements with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. To Noah, he promised that he would never again destroy the Earth with a flood. He promised Abraham that he would become the ancestor of a great nation, provided Abraham went to the place God showed him and sealed the covenant by circumcision of all the males of the nation. To Moses, God said that the Israelites would reach the Promised Land but must obey the Mosaic law. In the New Testament, God promised salvation (see also salvation) to those who believe in Jesus.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• covenantal
  adjective
• covenantally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• covenants
  plural

Participles

• covenanting
  present
• covenanted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• covenant
  simple
• covenants
  simple
• have covenanted
  perfect
• has covenanted
  perfect
• am covenanting
  progressive
• are covenanting
  progressive
• is covenanting
  progressive
• have been covenanting
  perfect progressive
• has been covenanting
  perfect progressive

Past

• covenanted
  simple
• had covenanted
  perfect
• was covenanting
  progressive
• were covenanting
  progressive
• had been covenanting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will covenant
  simple
• will have covenanted
  perfect
• will be covenanting
  progressive
• will have been covenanting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of covenant

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, noun use of convenant, covenant “agreeing, fitting,” present participle of convenir, covenir “to agree, meet, suit,” from Latin convenīre “to be suitable, come together”; see convene

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Explanation

A covenant is an agreement between two people, or companies, or even countries. It is formal, solemn, sometimes even sacred. There are some places where you'll hear covenant get used. It's a little old fashioned and formal, but marriage is often referred to as a covenant. The most famous covenant appears in the Bible — God tells a shepherd named Abraham to follow God's instructions in exchange for making Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

covenant Covenant covenants covenanted covenanting

One of Douglass’s early mentors was William Lloyd Garrison, who regarded the Constitution as “a covenant with death” and “an agreement with Hell.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Now, he’s suing USC for promissory estoppel, fraud, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and negligent misrepresentation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

He’s the chief living representative of the new covenant between God and man that allows all to seek forgiveness for their sins.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026

Cooper said they are being especially selective about individual credits, choice of manager and covenant protection, but attracted by much higher yields potentially on offer.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026

It’s as though we were all sworn to the same secret covenant, so secret we don’t even know what we belong to.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

One such company is Covenant Industries, which tested its Anthem cruise missile in just 13 days after the Army secured them time at the Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Chengdu's Early Rain Covenant Church said this week on its Telegram channel that nine of its members, including senior leaders, had been detained in a "concerted operation", with two others unaccounted for.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

"The Armed Forces Covenant isn't worth the paper it's written on. Rob was told he wasn't a priority despite all these promises that veterans would get help," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is one such treaty to which the United States is a party.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2025

It crops up in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Some credit covenants have become “a little too weak,” there’s been a bit too much pump-priming of good assets — “a little too much pushing on it,” Dimon said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

The nonprofit is keeping up with its mortgage payments, but it is in violation of certain loan covenants on multiple properties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

"It was probably the covenants that were the important thing," Ian reflected, "because it was something that we were agreeing between us to do, which just binds us that little bit closer together."

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

With few options to raise revenue for the tribe, individual Agua Caliente members had rented land to newcomers of color who were barred by real estate covenants from living elsewhere in Palm Springs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2024

But Achilles answered, “Madman. There are no covenants between sheep and wolves, nor between you and me.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Wright and King addressed covenanted congregations with an indomitable faith.

From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2019

They did not abandon the ideals of a covenanted people, but focused more on preserving their own colony than reforming all Christendom.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

It held that the sovereign nation does not start with central government but with the local covenanted community – the foedus – which form networks to constitute the nation.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2016

“I think the ethically responsible thing for gay and lesbian Christians to do is to form lasting, covenanted partnerships,” Neff said in a statement to CT.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 9, 2015

He sacrificed Himself, in other words, in order to make possible, through His life and Spirit, a new covenanted society, in which men should have perfect fellowship with God and with one another.

From St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Vol. I A Practical Exposition by Charles Gore

"You covenanting, psalm-singing, tub-thumping old quill-driver!" he continued.

From Shrewsbury A Romance by Stanley J. Weyman

On the first leaf, the celebrated covenanting Earl of Glencairne has written,— "This is the copie of Johne Knox his Chronicle, coppiede in the yeere of God 1643.—Glencairne."

From The Works of John Knox, Vol. 1 (of 6) by David Laing

Since Charles II. had come to play the sorry part of a covenanting king in 1650 no sovereign of the country had set foot on Scottish soil.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 7 "Geoponici" to "Germany" by Various

It cannot be entered into at any time but by faith—an element essential in covenanting.

From The Ordinance of Covenanting by John Cunningham

And in the case of personal or social covenanting, that party may be an individual or a joint number, approaching in dependence on the grace of Christ.

From The Ordinance of Covenanting by John Cunningham

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Related Words

• compact
• convention
• stipulation

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