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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?

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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

The property sits above the street on two lots which have been tied together through a covenant, and has 13,930 square feet of exterior space.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 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

“When physicians prioritize access to power over ethical judgment, they often break the foundational covenant of medicine,” she wrote.

From Salon ● May 19, 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

From the Pilgrims to the founders of the United States and continuing to the present day, the idea of a covenant involving people and God has persisted.

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

Covenant, a Washington, D.C.-based defense technology startup building long-range precision strike weapons, emerged from stealth with $250 million in funding across three rounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

They were midway through Sunday service in the south-western city of Jiangyou, when armed police officers stormed the room they were in, Early Rain Covenant said in a statement on Monday.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 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

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

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 company missed a $100 million interest payment in late December, which has prompted worries among senior creditors that the bond covenants aren’t air-tight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026

His most affecting songs, such as River and Wait For You, are covenants of support for a friend who's drowning in their troubles.

From BBC ● Jan. 6, 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

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

And three thousand guineas it was ultimately covenanted the price should be, thanks to Moore's reputation, and the business abilities of his friend Perry.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol 1-98, 1850-1899 None by Various (magazine) Harper

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 young Church of Scotland was based on the Word of God, anti-papal, free, reformed, and covenanting, and in that character acknowledged by the State.

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

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

Hence it was a custom upon the making up of covenants, for the parties covenanting, soberly to feast together.

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

The same year 1640, he was by the covenanting lords sent to London to draw up an accusation against arch-bishop Laud, for the innovations he had obtruded upon the church of Scotland.

From Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies by John Howie

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Related Words

• compact
• convention
• stipulation

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