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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 )

Trivia Time

Covenant entered English through which language?

Test Your Knowledge

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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

covenant Covenant covenants covenanted covenanting

The transport company is expected to secure bondholder approval this month to raise debt covenant ratio to 3.0x from 2.5x, easing concerns over potential cash calls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Do we think that entering into negotiations with Google, Meta and Amazon are closer to making a covenant with God, or making a deal with the devil?” he asked the council.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026

“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

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

They believed that as part of their covenant with their god, they should create “godly” societies in the “New World.”

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

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 Chinese government has also targeted the Early Rain Covenant Church, founded in 2008, for years.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026

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

Hileman figured the need to invest all that capital would cause private-credit firms to make loans that offered their investors lower returns and came with fewer protections, known as covenants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

The order bans new restrictive covenants which prohibit land being used for a supermarket.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025

Disney also agrees that a development agreement and restrictive covenants passed before the takeover are also not valid, according to the settlement terms.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

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

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

A truly covenanted society cannot punish someone who hasn’t been convicted in such a process.

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

And the same reason carries it in covenanting, tho' it were only about the maintenance of our outward estates and liberties, forasmuch as therein we have to do with God.

From The Covenants And The Covenanters Covenants, Sermons, and Documents of the Covenanted Reformation by James Kerr

Coming home, we had lots of fun: even George Brown, a covenanting old chap, caught its spirit.

From British Supremacy & Canadian Self-Government, 1839-1854 by J. L. (John Lyle) Morison

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

In 1772 the nawab of Oudh made a treaty with the Rohillas, covenanting to expel the Mahrattas in return for a money payment.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

Now these successful effects of covenanting well minded, First, May hint to us a satisfactory reason, in case peace comes not presently.

From The Covenants And The Covenanters Covenants, Sermons, and Documents of the Covenanted Reformation by James Kerr

Related Words

• compact
• convention
• stipulation