precontract
[noun pree-kon-trakt; verb pree-kuh n-trakt, -kon-trakt]
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- to bind by means of a precontract.
- to contract for or agree to do (something) by means of a precontract.
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- to make a precontract.
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Origin of precontract
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pre-contract
Historical Examples
But for my pre-contract, I had striven long ago to win her, and had been a happier man, mayhap.
The Dove in the Eagle's NestCharlotte M. Yonge
In the first years of the colonies there existed a formal ceremony of betrothal called in Plymouth a pre-contract.
Customs and Fashions in Old New EnglandAlice Morse Earle
Among the New England colonists there was a formal ceremony of betrothal, called a pre-contract or contraction.
The Historical ChildOscar Chrisman
A frail fibre of hope offered itself in the story of the pre-contract with the Count of Lorraine.
History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth. Vol. IIIJames Anthony Froude
The documents relating to the pre-contract were not sent; his vexation converted a shadow into a reality.
History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth. Vol. IIIJames Anthony Froude
precontract
- a contract or arrangement made beforehand, esp a betrothal
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- to betroth or enter into a betrothal by previous agreement
- to make (an agreement, etc) by prior arrangement
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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