oral contract
2
4.2
- noun
- /ˈɔrəl ˈkɒntrækt/
- Specialized
:
contrato verbal
- After much discussion, they decided to go ahead with the oral contract instead of drafting a written one.
- breach of an oral contract
Examples
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If Plaintiff sued for, say, breach of an oral contract and breach of a written contract, Plaintiff could enter a nolle prosequi for the oral contract and go to trial only on the written contract.
Blog text (32) -
The two parties agreed to an oral contract during their meeting, understanding the terms verbally.
-
- I consider that an oral contract.
-
My guess is they are asserting there was an oral contract.
Blog text (16) -
It is similar to an oral contract becoming a written agreement.
Academic text (2000) -
An oral contract.
-
Plaintiff and Ms. Emmer entered into an oral contract to perform the work.
Blog text (19) -
If the plaintiff wanted to, he could go back and sue B and C again later, and add in the oral contract claim on top of the written contract claim.
Blog text (32) -
If Plaintiff sued for, say, breach of an oral contract and breach of a written contract, Plaintiff could enter a nolle prosequi for the oral contract and go to trial only on the written contract.
Blog text (32) -
In the United States, this mistake would not defeat enforceability (since certain oral contracts are binding and because the intent to be legally bound is not a requirement), whereas the agreement very well might be unenforceable in jurisdictions adopting the English Rule. (107)
Academic text (2018)
Synonyms
∞
2.8
A written agreement between people or companies that the law can enforce
∞
1.4
A promise made between two or more people, often written
3
3.4
People make a deal by speaking instead of writing
Antonyms
How Enforceable
- Formal
152
5.8
- Formal
1
7.4
- Formal
3
2.7
- Specialized
2
4.2
- Formal
166
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a legally binding agreement made verbally' is directly inferable by combining 'oral' (expressed by spoken words) with 'contract' (an agreement enforceable by law), so a learner who knows both words can compose the meaning. While some dictionaries emphasize written contracts, the modifier 'oral' clearly signals a spoken form and this compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common, making it transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Oral contract comes from the simple idea of an agreement made by speaking: oral means 'spoken' and contract means an agreement. Imagine two people saying the terms out loud and shaking hands instead of signing papers—so a spoken promise can still be legally binding.