Pact

/pækt/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

nounA formal agreement between people, groups, or countries.

Extra definitions

nounA promise to cooperate.

nounA treaty or deal between countries.

nounAn agreement; a compact; a covenant.

The neighbors made a pact.
The nations signed a peace pact.
We made a pact to exercise.
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
None

From Middle English pact, from Middle French pacte, from Old French, and its etymon Latin pactum (“something agreed upon”), from pacīscī (“to agree”). Probably a doublet of patio.

“When national elites pacted in Mexico, they pacted to the advantage of the elites as against the masses and also to the advantage of the center as against the provinces.” — 1992, John Higley, Richard Gunther, Elites and Democratic Consolidation in Latin America and Southern Europe, page 129:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The neighbors made a ____.

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