gentlemen's agreement

n.
An agreement guaranteed only by the pledged word or unspoken understanding of the parties.

An unwritten agreement or transaction backed only by the integrity of the counterparty to actually abide by the terms of the agreement. An agreement like this is not legally binding and could have a negative effect on business relationships if one party decides to default on their promise.

Investopedia Says:
For example, if an employee at a company says they will get you a job and you have nothing to worry about, this is an example of a gentleman's agreement. However if they are unable to get you the job then you have no legal recourse.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Although agreements between individuals often create legally binding commitments, instances may arise in which mutual promises yield no legally enforceable agreement. Sometimes called "gentlemen's agreements," parties may honor them because moral obligations compel observance or because future relations will be more difficult if the present arrangement is broken. International organizations likewise may depend on such informal arrangements so as to maintain comity among members.

Occasionally the enabling treaties that create an international organization will leave some procedural or voting matter unresolved. Rather than amend the formal document, which is usually a difficult task, an informal working agreement will develop to resolve a particular problem. As long as the consensus holds to honor the informal agreement, there is no need to embody it into a legal document.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a personal agreement based on honor and not legally binding

---

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)