covenant
noun
an agreement or promise, usually formal, between two or more people or groups to do or not do something specified.
covenant
American
[kuhv-uh-nuhnt]
/ ˈkʌv ə nənt /
noun
-
covenants
plural
-
an agreement or promise, usually formal, between two or more people or groups to do or not do something specified.
- Synonyms:
- convention, pact, treaty
-
Law. a secondary clause in a legal contract.
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Ecclesiastical. a solemn agreement between the members of a Christian church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel.
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History/Historical. Covenant,
-
Bible.
-
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.
-
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.
-
-
Law.
-
a formal agreement of legal validity, especially one under seal.
-
an early English form of lawsuit involving sealed contracts.
-
verb (used with object)
-
covenants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
covenanted,
past participle, past
-
covenanting
present participle
-
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.
-
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
Covenant
1
British
/ ˈkʌvənənt /
noun
covenant
2
British
/ ˈkʌvənənt, ˌkʌvəˈnæntəl /
noun
-
a binding agreement; contract
-
law
-
an agreement in writing under seal, as to pay a stated annual sum to a charity
-
a particular clause in such an agreement, esp in a lease
-
-
(in early English law) an action in which damages were sought for breach of a sealed agreement
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Bible God's promise to the Israelites and their commitment to worship him alone
verb
covenant
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
covenantsimple
-
covenantssimple
-
have covenantedperfect
-
has covenantedperfect
-
am covenantingprogressive
-
are covenantingprogressive
-
is covenantingprogressive
-
have been covenantingperfect progressive
-
has been covenantingperfect progressive
Past
-
covenantedsimple
-
had covenantedperfect
-
was covenantingprogressive
-
were covenantingprogressive
-
had been covenantingperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing covenant
Hamilton
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The Mayflower Compact (1620)
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World Religions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Any further increase in leverage or inability to service debt could result in downgraded credit ratings, and liquidity or covenant issues.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
To do otherwise is to betray the covenant between California taxpayers and the UC system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 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
One of these said alterations had been "clearly shown" using Google Earth satellite imagery, which Mr Milne said was a "breach of the aforesaid covenant".
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
I know who you are, Mr. Potter, but even you must understand that it’s against school covenant for parents or professors to enter a House quarters without express permission from .
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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
Just weeks ago, Li Yingqiang, the current leader of Early Rain Covenant Church, had said he "sensed a storm gathering" and referred to "the imminent prospect of... another large-scale crackdown".
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026
Proceeds from the new recording of “Home Sweet Home” benefit Covenant House, the nonprofit with which the band has partnered for nearly 20 years through its Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
It crops up in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Netflix has no such covenants seeking approval on business matters prior to the deal closing, Warner said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 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
A clause placed in thousands of L.A. property deeds in 1902 restricted housing covenants at the time West Adams Heights and many other L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
Walmart and other major retailers have made the situation even worse by including restrictive covenants in the deeds of old buildings, which prevent other retailers from using the space for competitive purposes.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2024
What unknown covenants led her ultimately to this beach and this hour and this solitude?
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Puritans tried to Hebraize their Christian quest for personal salvation in Christ by grounding it in covenanted communities of law and collective discipline.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024
Falcicchio said units covenanted through the program must remain affordable for at least 15 years at or below 80 percent of the area median family income, with the incentive determined by affordability, among other factors.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021
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
Oliver Twist was then in mid-career; a Life of Grimaldi and Barnaby Rudge were already covenanted for.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various
They need just what the ordinance of baptism, properly observed and fully carried out by covenanting parents, would do for them.
From Bertha and Her Baptism by Nehemiah Adams
The lands lying by the water side were granted to certain of the adventurers and merchants, they covenanting to pay rent and service to Gilbert, his heirs and assigns for ever.
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Frederick Whymper
A very lawful, laudable and necessary transaction, founded upon moral equity, and upon the fundamental constitutions of that government, and suitable to the constant practice of their predecessors, in their covenanting with Saul and David.
From A Hind Let Loose Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland for the Interest of Christ. With the True State Thereof in All Its Periods by Alexander Shields
And this might suffice to warrant our covenanting to extirpate this prelacy, save that only.
From The Covenants And The Covenanters Covenants, Sermons, and Documents of the Covenanted Reformation by James Kerr
"The obligation arises entirely from the act of the creatures, using a divine ordinance, by vowing unto God, and covenanting with him, whereby they bind their souls with a bond to serve the Lord."
From The Ordinance of Covenanting by John Cunningham
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
