reach an agreement

Meaning

To arrive at a decision or compromise that all parties involved accept and agree to. This phrase is highly common in negotiations, legal contexts, and formal business discussions. The tone is professional, polite, and formal.

Examples

• After hours of intense negotiation, we finally managed to reach an agreement.

  After hours of intense negotiation, we finally managed to reach an agreement.

• The two companies hope to reach an agreement on the merger by next month.

  The two companies hope to reach an agreement on the merger by next month.

• If we cannot reach an agreement, we might have to look for other partners.

  If we cannot reach an agreement, we might have to look for other partners.

• Both parties compromised on several points to reach an agreement.

  Both parties compromised on several points to reach an agreement.

• It took a lot of discussion, but we were able to reach an agreement on the budget.

  It took a lot of discussion, but we were able to reach an agreement on the budget.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We arrived to an agreement after the meeting.

  ✓ We reached an agreement after the meeting.

  While 'arrive at an agreement' is correct, 'arrive to' is grammatically incorrect. 'Reach an agreement' is the most common and natural collocation.

• ✗ We made an agreement with the client yesterday.

  ✓ We reached an agreement with the client yesterday.

  'Make an agreement' is grammatically acceptable but sounds less professional and authoritative than 'reach an agreement' in formal business contexts.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The negotiators worked late into the night to ___ on the contract.

  💡 Arrive at a mutual decision.

  Show answer

  reach an agreement

• We need to meet with the suppliers to ___ regarding the pricing.

  💡 Find a compromise or mutual consent.

  Show answer

  reach an agreement