extend the contract

Meaning

This phrase means to prolong or lengthen the duration of an existing legal agreement, employment term, or service agreement. It is used when both parties agree to continue their professional relationship beyond the original end date.

Examples

• If the client is satisfied with our work, they might extend the contract for another year.

  If the client is satisfied with our work, they might extend the contract for another year.

• We need to discuss whether we should extend the contract with our current supplier.

  We need to discuss whether we should extend the contract with our current supplier.

• The company offered to extend my contract, but I decided to look for new opportunities.

  The company offered to extend my contract, but I decided to look for new opportunities.

• They are planning to extend the contract under the same terms and conditions.

  They are planning to extend the contract under the same terms and conditions.

• Before we extend the contract, we should renegotiate the monthly service fees.

  Before we extend the contract, we should renegotiate the monthly service fees.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They decided to expand the contract for six more months.

  ✓ They decided to extend the contract for six more months.

  'Expand' refers to size, volume, or scope, while 'extend' refers to time, duration, or physical reach.

• ✗ We want to prolong the contract.

  ✓ We want to extend the contract.

  While 'prolong' is grammatically correct, 'extend' is the standard, highly preferred collocation in professional, legal, and HR contexts.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Since the project is taking longer than expected, the client agreed to ___.

  💡 Lengthen the duration of the agreement.

  Show answer

  extend the contract

• The HR department wants to ___ for our temporary graphic designer.

  💡 Keep the employee for a longer period.

  Show answer

  extend the contract