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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
Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
In June, the pair signed a pact that will see TF1’s commercial stations and on-demand content land on Netflix.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
Jews were purged from the Soviet Foreign Ministry in 1939, when the Soviet Union signed a pact with Nazi Germany, and antisemitic show trials followed not long after Germany’s defeat.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Trump has repeatedly threatened to disband the pact — agreed during his first term — if Canada and Mexico, the US’ two biggest trading partners, fail to heed his demands, such as halting fentanyl flows to the US and curbing Chinese investment.
—semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pact. Accessed 27 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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