Word.ws English Dictionary

precontract

precontract noun: a contract preceding another, especially a contract of marriage which, according to the ancient law, rendered void a subsequent marriage solemnized in violation of it.

Noun

precontract (plural precontracts)

  1. A contract preceding another, especially a contract of marriage which, according to the ancient law, rendered void a subsequent marriage solemnized in violation of it.
    • Two grounds are surmised , by opposite parties : a pre-contract with Percy , Earl of Northumberland ; and an adulterous intercourse of Henry , many years preceding , with Anne's sister , Mary Boleyn.1726, John Ayliffe, Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani: Or, A Commentary, by Way of Supplement to the Canons and Constitutions of the Church of England. […], London: […] D. Leach, and sold by John...
    • A followed in the Federal courts , to the precontract , valid by the Constitution and laws judice of holders for value who acquired their of a State1867, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Digest of the Reports of the United States Courts and Acts of Congress

Verb

precontract (third-person singular simple present precontracts, present participle precontracting, simple past and past participle precontracted)

  1. To contract prior to another process.
  2. To make a previous contract.

Forms of precontract

Noun
pluralprecontracts
alternative formpre-contract
Verb
third-person singular presentprecontracts
present participleprecontracting
past participleprecontracted
pastprecontracted

Origin of precontract

From pre- + contract.

Questions about precontract

What does precontract mean?
Precontract means a contract preceding another, especially a contract of marriage which, according to the ancient law, rendered void a subsequent marriage solemnized in violation of it.
What part of speech is precontract?
Precontract can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of precontract?
The plural of precontract is precontracts.

Words near precontract in the dictionary

  1. precontemplator
  2. precontemplators
  3. precontemporaneous
  4. precontemporary
  5. precontest
  6. precontract
  7. precontracted
  8. precontractile
  9. precontracting
  10. precontraction
  11. precontractions

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: precontract (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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