Agree
Pronunciation
- enPR: É™-grÄ“', IPA: /əˈɡriË/
- Rhymes: -iË
- Hyphenation: a + gree
Origin
Old French agreer ("to accept or receive kindly"), from a gré ("favorably"), from Latin ad ("to") + gratum ("pleasing").
Full definition of agree
Verb
- (intransitive) To harmonize in opinion, statement, or action; to be in unison or concord; to be or become united or consistent; to concur.all parties agree in the expediency of the law.
- 1594, Thomas Lodge, The wounds of civil war: Lively set forth in the true tragedies of Marius and Scilla, You know that in so great a state as this, Two mightie foes can never well agree.
- unknown date ShakespeareIf music and sweet poetry agree.
- unknown date Mark xiv. 56.Their witness agreed not together.
- unknown date Sir T. BrowneThe more you agree together, the less hurt can your enemies do you.
- (intransitive) To yield assent; to accede;—followed by to.to agree to an offer, or to opinion.
- (transitive, UK, Irish) To yield assent to; to approve.
- 1666, Samuel Pepys, The Diary of Samuel Pepys, ... and there, after a good while in discourse, we did agree a bargain of £5,000 with Sir Roger Cuttance for my Lord Sandwich for silk, cinnamon, ...
- 2005, Paddy McNutt, Law, economics and antitrust: towards a new perspective, The essential idea is that parties should enter the market, choose their contractors, set their own terms and agree a bargain.
- 2011 April 3, John Burke, in The Sunday Business Post:Bishops agree sex abuse rules
- (intransitive) To make a stipulation by way of settling differences or determining a price; to exchange promises; to come to terms or to a common resolve; to promise.
- unknown date Matt. v. 25.Agree with thine adversary quickly.
- unknown date Matt. xx. 13.Didst not thou agree with me for a penny ?
- (intransitive) To be conformable; to resemble; to coincide; to correspond.the picture does not agree with the original; the two scales agree exactly.
- (intransitive) To suit or be adapted in its effects; to do well.the same food does not agree with every constitution.
- (intransitive, grammar) To correspond to in gender, number, case, or person.
- (intransitive, legal) To consent to a contract or to an element of a contract.
Usage notes
This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See
The transitive usage could be considered as just an omission of to or upon.
US and Canadian English do not use the transitive form. Thus "they agreed on a price" or "they agreed to the conditions" are used in North America but not "they agreed a price" or "they agreed the conditions".