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Pact has "peace" at its root because a pact often ends a period of unfriendly relations. The word is generally used in the field of international relations, where diplomats may speak of an "arms pact", a "trade pact", or a "fishing-rights pact". But it may also be used for any solemn agreement or promise between two people; after all, whenever two parties shake hands on a deal, they're not about to go to war with each other.
Examples of pact in a Sentence
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
The acquisition was negotiated by WestEnd’s Amsellem and Greenwich’s Co-President Edward Arentz while Kanopy’s Courtney Kyer and Arentz sealed the Greenwich/Kanopy pact.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Starmer is also pressing to lock in the details of a new trade pact that could give British exporters broader access to American markets while protecting politically sensitive industries.
—Nik Popli, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
If adopted, a joint Muslim defense pact could reshape the balance of power in the Middle East while testing Washington's role as the region's security guarantor.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pact. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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pact
nounMiddle English pact "agreement," from early French pact (same meaning), from Latin pactum (same meaning), derived from pacisci "to agree, contract"
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