Legal glossary category
Contract Law
Browse 117 glossary entries in the Contract Law category, with short plain-English descriptions and direct links to the full term pages.
consideration
It's like trading your allowance (the promise) for your friend’s favorite comic book.
Open term →consult
Consult is like asking your parent for permission before coloring outside the lines; it’s seeking their expert approval before you proceed with the...
Open term →consummate
When you return the library book and pay the fine, the contract (borrowing the book) is consummated.
Open term →contact
A contact functions like a permission slip: when you sign it, you promise to do something specific for someone else.
Open term →contract
It is like a permission slip: if you sign it, your parents (the other party) are legally obligated to let you go to the park.
Open term →contractor
Think of it like this: If you hire someone to paint your whole house (contractor), they decide *how* they paint it; if you hire a cleaner just for...
Open term →cooperation
Cooperation is like when you promise your friend you will help them clean up after recess; they have to cooperate by not hiding all the toys.
Open term →correct
A correct homework assignment gets full marks because it follows every rule the teacher gave you.
Open term →covenant
A covenant is like a promise written on a hall pass: you promise not to run in the halls during class time.
Open term →covered
If your permission slip covers recess time, you can play outside without needing a separate hall pass.
Open term →cumulative
If you get three hall passes, and they are cumulative, you don't just lose one pass; you lose all three at once.
Open term →damage
Damage is like when your friend breaks your favorite crayon; the 'damage' is the loss of that specific crayon.
Open term →date
A date is like the day written on your permission slip.
Open term →date of determination
It is like the due date on a permission slip for a field trip.
Open term →decreased
A decreased hall pass means you aren't allowed to run as fast as usual.
Open term →defer
Deferring means saying, 'I'll do it tomorrow.' If you promise your sibling you’ll give them that toy next week instead of today, you are deferring...
Open term →delegate
Imagine you give your friend a hall pass to represent you in class; that friend is the delegate performing your duty.
Open term →departure
A departure is like when you agree to meet a friend at 3:00 PM, but you decide to leave and show up at 3:20 PM instead.
Open term →depository trust
Think of a library book you lend out; the library holds it for you until you return it.
Open term →descendants
If you promise your friend something today, the descendant is like their kid who can collect on that promise later.
Open term →designee
A designee is like giving your friend permission slip to sign your soccer registration form instead of you signing it yourself.
Open term →detail
Detail is like writing down exactly what toy you want—not just 'a truck,' but 'a red pickup truck with working headlights.' It leaves no room for g...
Open term →disbursement
Think of a hall pass: when you use it (the disbursement), you are paying for something—like going to the nurse—and someone expects you to pay back...
Open term →discharge
Imagine you promise your friend $5.
Open term →disclaimer
It's like signing a permission slip that says, 'You can play outside, but you agree not to complain if you get mud on your shoes.' This limits what...
Open term →disclose
If you are asked to disclose the good news about your grades, you have to tell the teacher everything important, just like handing in a full report...
Open term →distributor
Think of it like getting permission from the bakery (manufacturer) to be the only person allowed to sell their cookies (goods) at your school's fai...
Open term →domain
Imagine a permission slip granting you domain over playing with your favorite toy; only *you* can play with it outside the house.
Open term →draft
Think of a permission slip: it's not the signed, stamped version yet, but it shows what you are allowed to do before you leave school grounds.
Open term →due date
It functions like the last day written on a permission slip; if you hand it in after that date, you get a late mark or fine.
Open term →duty
It’s like a rule on your hall pass: you have the duty to return it, or the consequence is getting detention.
Open term →effect
The legal effect is like when you sign a permission slip; that signature immediately creates the *effect* of allowing your child at the field trip.
Open term →effectuate
If you sign permission slip allowing recess, the school must *effectuate* that by letting you go out.
Open term →effort
It's like agreeing to study hard for a test instead of promising an 'A'.
Open term →elect
Electing is like deciding which hall pass you want to use—you can't just keep them all; picking one means you give up the others.
Open term →eliminate
Elimination is like crossing out your name off the attendance sheet completely.
Open term →An email acts like a signed permission slip you send to your friend about playing outside.
Open term →end
It's like when a permission slip says 'Ends on Friday.' That date is the end; after Friday, you don't need it anymore.
Open term →entire
It means when you sign a new permission slip, all the old ones get erased; only the newest one matters for your field trip.
Open term →entitle
Entitlement is like having a permission slip signed for you; it means you have the official right to go into the park when others don't.
Open term →environment
The legal environment is like the set of playground rules—it tells you if you can swing high, slide fast, and when you have to wait your turn.
Open term →equitable
If you promise your friend you'll let them use your favorite swing set (the law), but they break it and deserve more than just a new swing—maybe th...
Open term →ero
Ero is like when you give back a library book; the promise to return it ends immediately upon your drop-off.
Open term →estimate
An estimate is like coloring in a picture before you finish it; it shows what it will look like but isn't the final, perfect coloring yet.
Open term →estoppel
If you tell your friend, 'You can use my bike anytime,' and they rely on that promise by riding it all week, estoppel stops them from later claimin...
Open term →event
An event is like when you promise your friend you’ll bring cookies; the actual day you show up with them is the event that makes the promise real.
Open term →experience
Experience is like showing your teacher you've already aced every math test before; it proves you know how to do the current homework assignment well.
Open term →expire
Expiration acts like when your permission slip says 'Valid until 5 PM.' After that time, you can't use it anymore, even if you still have it in you...
Open term →extension
If your permission slip says school ends Friday, an extension is getting it signed so you can turn it in Monday instead.
Open term →facility
A facility is like the playground at school; it tells you exactly where the game has to happen.
Open term →fail
Failure is when you don't do what you promised on your permission slip.
Open term →faith
Faith is like trusting your friend when they say they will bring the ball to recess.
Open term →fiduciary
A fiduciary is like a trusted babysitter who promises to only choose snacks that make you happy, not just the ones they prefer.
Open term →fiduciary duty
It is like being given a hall pass to your friend: you promise not to use it just for yourself when they need it most.
Open term →firm
A firm is like when you promise your friend you will bring the ball to recess; that promise makes it legally binding, so they can hold you accounta...
Open term →food
If your contract says you must deliver 'food,' it means more than just a bag of chips; it has to be safe to eat like permission slip saying it's ok...
Open term →for cause
It's like a hall pass: you only use it if someone breaks a rule (the cause).
Open term →force majeure
If you promised your friend you'd mow their lawn Saturday, but a sudden hailstorm ruins all the grass, that storm is force majeure—it excuses you f...
Open term →foreseeable
Foreseeable means you thought it might happen before signing a promise.
Open term →formation
Formation is like when you agree to trade your favorite toy for a friend's action figure; once the handshake happens, the deal is official.
Open term →former
If you held a hall pass yesterday, your status is 'former,' meaning you can't use it today unless specifically allowed.
Open term →fundamental
A fundamental agreement is like the main rule on a permission slip—if you take away the signature line, the whole slip doesn't really work anymore.
Open term →gacc
GACC is like having a hall pass that lets you take over your friend’s chores without making them do them anymore.
Open term →gain
It's like getting an extra allowance because you finished your chores early; that bonus money is your 'gain.' This financial reward proves someone...
Open term →general
A general rule is like saying, 'We agree to be nice.' It covers everything from sharing toys to cleaning up spills when no specific instruction is...
Open term →good
A teacher's 'good' stamp on a homework page means that page satisfied that assignment.
Open term →good faith
On a playground, if you promise a friend half your sandwich, good faith means you actually cut it in half.
Open term →govern
Like a permission slip tells a teacher that a parent's rules govern a school trip, a governing-law clause tells a judge which state's laws rule a c...
Open term →governing law
Like deciding before a schoolyard game which rulebook counts, a governing law clause tells the judge which law to use before the teams ever start a...
Open term →gross
Before your allowance is docked for breaking curfew, the full weekly amount is the gross.
Open term →group
When a teacher says the whole group must clean the classroom, every child in that group shares the job.
Open term →growth
Like being told you get a prize if your garden grows, you need a ruler and a starting height to know the promise was kept.
Open term →guarantor
Imagine a friend borrows your bike and breaks the handlebar.
Open term →harmless
Like a friend promising to pay your library fine if you get caught lending them your card, a hold-harmless promise means someone else covers the tr...
Open term →heading
A heading works like the tab label on a folder that says 'Homework.' The teacher grades the papers inside, not the writing on the tab.
Open term →immediately
When your teacher says 'line up immediately,' you stop what you're doing and get in line — not after finishing your drawing.
Open term →impair
If your teacher promises the class a pizza party, then the principal cuts it to ten minutes, the promise got impaired — you still get pizza, but le...
Open term →implied
If your teacher watches you hand out crayons every day and never stops you, she's given you an unspoken permission slip.
Open term →in arrears
Promise your friend a dollar by Friday and miss it, and you're in arrears — like a library fine that grows until paid.
Open term →in force
A hall pass is in force while the teacher honors it — you can walk the halls without getting sent back to class.
Open term →inability
If you promised to lend your friend a book but your dog chewed it up, you can't keep the promise — that's inability.
Open term →inaccuracy
If your permission slip says you're going to the science museum but the class goes to the zoo, the slip is inaccurate.
Open term →inaction
If your friend keeps borrowing your toy and you never say no, after a while you can't complain — your silence counted as permission.
Open term →incentive
Like a parent promising dessert for finished homework, the law offers something good so you choose to do what it wants.
Open term →incidental
If a friend promises to drive you to the library and your little brother tags along because it's on the way, his ride is a lucky accident.
Open term →includes
When your teacher's rule says 'toys includes balls,' she isn't listing every toy — a frisbee still counts.
Open term →inconvenient
If you promised to trade lunches, finding the trade annoying doesn't cancel it — only a true impossibility, like the school banning trades, might.
Open term →incremental
Imagine your library fine is 10 cents for every day a book is late.
Open term →incur
Incurring a cost is like owing the library a fine the moment a book is overdue — you owe it even before you walk up and pay.
Open term →indemnify
Imagine you promise the librarian you'll pay every fine your friend racks up on your card.
Open term →independent
Like promising the librarian you'll return your book even if your friend never returns hers, an independent promise stands alone — you keep your wo...
Open term →indirectly
If your class rule says no trading snacks, and you hand your cookie to a friend so she trades it for chips for you, you still traded — just through...
Open term →individual
Signing your own permission slip makes you an individual; your mom signing it for you means she acts for someone else, like a company.
Open term →induce
If a friend promises you their dessert to get your cookies, that promise induced the trade.
Open term →industry
Think of how everyone in your class raises a hand before speaking — that's the class custom.
Open term →inquiry
Asking your teacher if you can turn in a project late is an inquiry.
Open term →installment
If a board game costs twenty dollars, paying two dollars a week for ten weeks lets you pay in installments instead of spending all your allowance a...
Open term →instance
If a teacher forgives you for forgetting your permission slip one time, that single instance does not let you skip bringing it tomorrow.
Open term →instrument
Think of a signed permission slip for a field trip.
Open term →transition
Transition is like trading in your old bike for a new one.
Open term →treatment
Treatment is like following the rules on a permission slip; it shows exactly how you have to behave to get what you want done.
Open term →trust company
Think of it like this: A trust company is a trusted babysitter hired to manage your allowance money exactly how you tell them to.
Open term →type
It is like labeling your toys: calling a block a 'building type' means you know it can be stacked high for a tower.
Open term →unauthorized
If your mom lets you play with her keys but doesn't say 'go ahead,' using them without permission is unauthorized.
Open term →undertake
Undertaking is like signing up for a library book; you commit yourself to returning it on time.
Open term →uniform
Think of it like a school shirt; wearing the right polo shows everyone you belong to that specific class or team.
Open term →unit
A unit is like one specific sticker on a whole sheet of stickers.
Open term →unremedied
If you sign a promise slip and don't fix the mistake—like writing 'Tuesday' instead of 'Thursday'—that unremedied error allows your friend to cance...
Open term →updated
If your permission slip has an updated date and new rules written on it, that's the same paper with fresh information.
Open term →violate
Violating means breaking the rules of the game; like when you promise your friend you'll share your toy but then you keep it all to yourself instead.
Open term →voluntarily
If you sign a permission slip because your mom made you, that's not voluntary; she forced it.
Open term →voluntary
If you voluntarily sign a permission slip, you chose to agree to the field trip.
Open term →vote
When you sign permission slips for field trips, your signature is like a vote saying 'Yes.' A majority vote means more people agreed than those who...
Open term →waiver
A waiver is like handing over your hall pass to the principal; you willingly let them keep it instead of using it for recess permission.
Open term →well
A well is like having permission slip signed; it means you have the required authorization on file.
Open term →withdraw
Withdrawing is like handing back a permission slip you already signed.
Open term →wrongful
If you promise your friend you'll bring their favorite comic book, but you forget it, that forgetting is wrongful.
Open term →