pact

American  

[pakt] / pækt /

noun

• pacts
  plural

1. an agreement, covenant, or compact.

   We made a pact not to argue any more.

2. an agreement or treaty between two or more nations.

   a pact between Germany and Italy.

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pact British  

/ pækt /

noun

1. an agreement or compact between two or more parties, nations, etc, for mutual advantage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pacts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pact

1400–50; late Middle English pact(e) < Middle French < Latin pactum, noun use of neuter of past participle of pacīscī to make a bargain, contract

Explanation

A pact is a treaty or other agreement between parties, and it's usually written. Countries can have pacts or you can make a pact with your friends, promising each other that you'll all show up for the spelling bee. A pact is a formal agreement. The 1955 Warsaw Pact, for instance, was Eastern Europe's answer to NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), with communist countries pledging mutual aid in case of foreign aggression. You may also come across the word compact, which is pretty much the same as a pact. The word pact comes from the Latin pactum, meaning "something agreed upon." In Roman times, one kind of pact was the marriage pact you signed when you got married.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pact pacts

President Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, reached a pact last October that saw the U.S. lower most tariffs from 25% to 15%, including on South Korea’s automobile sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“There needs to be some stability and credibility” in any future trade pact, Carney told reporters at a press event in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Wale has sought to build closer ties with Australia and the United States since his election in May, putting a secretive security pact with Chinese under review.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Though not named in the pact, Westinghouse is the only U.S. company marketing large-scale reactors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

I don’t know what our pact is, but Ma includes me in ways Father never does.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

The North American Free Trade Agreement was followed by numerous new bilateral pacts slashing trade barriers, including with Colombia, Chile, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, as well as Central America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

It also creates an incentive for countries to comply with trade pacts that they earlier struck, she added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

But the EU, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland received some relief in line with trade pacts they previously reached with the United States.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Canada has free-trade pacts covering more than 50 countries, but roughly three-quarters of its exports have traditionally gone to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

And there they are, instantly drawn into one of those pacts you’d be hard-pressed to break if you ever expect to go home and face your district.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• arrangement
• compact
• contract
• convention
• covenant
• deal
• protocol
• settlement
• transaction
• understanding