Meaning & use
draft agreement
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
An early written version of a contract or deal that the parties are still discussing and may change before they sign it.
Grammar: Countable: a draft agreement, the draft agreements.
Patterns
- a draft agreement between someone and someone
The lawyers sent a draft agreement to both companies for review.
Our landlord has shared a draft agreement for the new lease.
Several clauses in the draft agreement were rewritten after the meeting.
nouncountable
In politics and diplomacy, a proposed text of a treaty or accord that negotiators have prepared but governments have not yet approved.
Grammar: Often followed by on: a draft agreement on trade.
Patterns
- a draft agreement on something
Negotiators released a draft agreement on carbon emissions.
The draft agreement still needs approval from parliament.
Word forms
| plural | draft agreements |
|---|
Common combinations
- circulate a draft agreement
- The committee will circulate a draft agreement before Friday.
- review the draft agreement
- Please review the draft agreement and send your comments.
- a preliminary draft agreement
- A preliminary draft agreement was ready by the end of the week.
- sign the draft agreement
- Neither side was willing to sign the draft agreement yet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- proposal
- A proposal is an idea offered for consideration and may not yet be written as a full contract, while a draft agreement already has contract wording.
- term sheet
- A term sheet only lists main conditions, while a draft agreement is a fuller, clause-by-clause text.
- working paper
- A working paper is an internal discussion document, whereas a draft agreement is meant to be shared with the other party.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: draft agreement or draught agreement?
draft agreement vs draught agreement
Draught is a British spelling for air flow and drinks; it is never used for a written draft.
Practice
The two firms have not signed anything yet; they are still negotiating a ___ that their lawyers prepared.
Choose one answer.
A draft agreement is an unsigned version still open to change; a final contract or signed receipt would mean the deal is complete.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “draft agreement”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.