English Reference
noun

agreement

n.
US /əˈɡɹimənt/ UK /ɐɡɹˈiːmənt/ agree·ment UK spelling agreement's, agreement's

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate

    a situation where people have the same opinion or feeling about something.

    the state of sharing a view, opinion, or purpose; a lack of contradiction between parties.

    Simple

    The two managers reached an agreement on how to handle the new project.

    In context

    There was general agreement among the board members that the current strategy required significant revision before the next fiscal year.

  2. 02 B1 Intermediate

    a formal decision or promise between two or more people or groups.

    a negotiated arrangement or understanding between entities to follow a specific course of conduct.

    Simple

    The neighbors made a verbal agreement to share the cost of the new fence.

    In context

    The ceasefire agreement was signed after weeks of intense diplomatic pressure from international mediators.

  3. 03 B2 Upper Intermediate Formal Law

    a written document that is legally binding.

    a legally enforceable contract or document that outlines specific obligations and rights.

    Simple

    Make sure you read the rental agreement carefully before you sign it.

    In context

    The merger agreement contained several clauses designed to protect the interests of minority shareholders during the transition period.

  4. 04 C1 Advanced TechnicalAcademic Science

    a rule where words in a sentence must match in number, gender, or person.

    the grammatical correspondence between words in a sentence, such as a verb matching its subject in number.

    Simple

    In English, we must have agreement between the subject and the verb.

    In context

    The student struggled with gender agreement when learning Spanish, often forgetting to change the adjective endings to match the nouns.

    Usage

    Often used with the preposition 'between' or 'with'.

    Teacher's tip

    In EFL contexts, this usually refers to 'subject-verb agreement', which is a common area for learner errors.

    Pitfall
    There is a lack of agreement between the subject and the verbs. There is a lack of agreement between the subject and the verb.

    In linguistics, 'agreement' usually refers to the relationship between a subject and a single verb form.

Usage agreement signed · broad agreement · general agreement


Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Old French a- Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥Htós Proto-Italic *gʷrātos Latin grātus Latin grātumder. Old French gré Old French agreer Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-məntom Latin -mentum Old French -ment Old French agrementbor. Middle English agrement English agreement From Middle English agrement, agreement, from Old French agrement, agreement. Doublet of agrément. Morphologically agree + -ment.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Old French agrement
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Very common
Updated