gentlemen's agreement
Americannoun
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an agreement that, although unenforceable at law, is binding as a matter of personal honor.
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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.
noun
Etymology
Origin of gentlemen's agreement
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
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.
Leverkusen had a gentlemen's agreement with Alonso by which he could leave if one of this former clubs came calling, a door open to Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real.
From BBC • May 12, 2025
Oxfam similarly criticized an “old gentlemen’s agreement of World Bank and IMF appointments,” saying it should have been a more transparent and merit-based global process.
From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023
They’re in a written gentlemen’s agreement, somewhere, that Punchbowl News devilishly described as the “secret three-page addendum.”
From Slate • Jan. 9, 2023
Although the league’s territorial rights were little more than a gentlemen’s agreement — and despite Pottsville having received an official approval to play the game — the N.F.L. suspended the Maroons.
From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2022
Aircraft out ... gentlemen's agreement ... quite understand ... well ... landingbarges ...
From Greener Than You Think by Moore, Ward
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.
