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3. agreement

agreement

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agreement in principle

An agreement in which the general terms and/or conditions of a deal are accepted without the complete details having been specified or necessarily agreed upon. There was an agreement in principle that the government would cover the cost of building a new school, but so far we haven't seen a clear proposal on how this would be accomplished.

See also: agreement, principle

gentleman's agreement

A legally non-binding arrangement that is guaranteed only by a verbal or mutually understood agreement by the parties involved. Though my father left me his entire estate in his will, I made a gentleman's agreement with my brother to share the wealth equally between us.

See also: agreement

in agreement

(with someone or something) in conformity with someone or something; agreeing with someone or something. We are in total agreement. I am in agreement with your proposal.

See also: agreement

reach an accord (with someone)

 and reach an agreement (with someone)

to come to an agreement with someone. I hope that we can reach an accord with the union so work can start again. We will try one more time to reach an agreement with you. We reached an agreement and signed a contract.

See also: accord, reach

sweetheart agreement

 and sweetheart deal

a private agreement reached between a public agency or government official and a private company that includes illicit payments or special favors. They found that the mayor was involved in a number of sweetheart agreements. Most of the building contractors in town would be out of business if they didn't have sweetheart deals with the local politicians.

See also: agreement, sweetheart