Meaning & use
bilateral contract
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Meaning
nouncountablelegal
An agreement in which each of the two sides promises something to the other, so both have legal duties.
Grammar: Used with an or the: they signed a bilateral contract.
Patterns
- enter into a bilateral contract
- a bilateral contract between two parties
A sale is a bilateral contract: the seller promises the goods and the buyer promises payment.
Both firms signed a bilateral contract that set out their duties.
If one party breaks a bilateral contract, the other can seek damages.
Word forms
| plural | bilateral contracts |
|---|
Common combinations
- enter into a bilateral contract
- The studio entered into a bilateral contract with the author.
- breach a bilateral contract
- If you breach a bilateral contract, you may owe compensation.
- a valid bilateral contract
- A valid bilateral contract needs an offer, acceptance and consideration.
- form a bilateral contract
- A bilateral contract forms when the offer is accepted by a promise.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mutual agreement
- It is looser and everyday, and does not suggest a legally enforceable promise on both sides.
- two-sided contract
- It is a plain-English explanation rather than the standard legal term.
- reciprocal contract
- It stresses the exchange of promises and is more common in some legal systems than in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
- bilateral adjective
- involving two sides or parties
- unilateral adjective
- done or promised by one side only
- contract noun
- a legally binding agreement
- bilaterally adverb
- in a way involving two sides
Commonly confused: bilateral contract or unilateral contract?
bilateral contract vs unilateral contract
In a unilateral contract only one party promises something, and the other side accepts by performing the act, as in a reward offer.
Practice
Which situation is the best example of a bilateral contract?
Choose one answer.
A lease binds both sides with promises. The reward offer is the classic unilateral contract, since only the offeror promises something until the act is done.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bilateral contract”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.