Meaning & use
a unilateral contract
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Meaning
nouncountablelegallaw
A legally binding agreement in which one side makes a promise and the other side accepts it by doing a particular act, not by making a promise back.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a unilateral contract' for one and 'unilateral contracts' for the type in general.
Patterns
- form a unilateral contract
- a unilateral contract is created when someone does something
- under a unilateral contract
A reward poster is a classic example of a unilateral contract: the company promises to pay, and you accept by finding the lost dog.
The court held that a unilateral contract was formed when the builder finished the work after the owner's promise of payment.
In a unilateral contract, only one party makes a promise at the start.
Word forms
| plural | unilateral contracts |
|---|
Common combinations
- form a unilateral contract
- The judge said the parties had formed a unilateral contract when the work was completed.
- a unilateral contract is created
- A unilateral contract is created by performance, not by a signed promise.
- under a unilateral contract
- Under a unilateral contract, the offeror must pay once the act is done.
- an offer of a unilateral contract
- The advertisement was treated as an offer of a unilateral contract.
Synonyms and how they differ
- one-sided agreement
- This is a plain-English way to describe the same idea, but it is not a legal term and can suggest unfairness rather than the technical rule.
Opposites
Word family
- unilateral adjective
- Done by one side only, without the agreement of others.
- unilaterally adverb
- In a way that involves only one side.
Commonly confused: a unilateral contract or bilateral contract?
a unilateral contract vs bilateral contract
A bilateral contract is formed when both sides make promises to each other, while a unilateral contract is accepted by doing an act.
Practice
A company offers $500 to anyone who returns its lost laptop. This is best described as ___.
Choose one answer.
'A unilateral contract' is correct because the company makes the only promise and the finder accepts by returning the laptop. 'A bilateral contract' would require both sides to promise something, 'an illegal contract' is wrong because the deal is lawful, and 'a verbal contract' describes how it is spoken rather than how it is accepted.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a unilateral contract”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.