Agree

How to spell agree

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce agree

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does agree mean?

1. verbTo share the same opinion as someone, or to consent to a proposal or arrangement.

Agree in a sentence

• Both managers agree on the new budget after a short discussion.

• The two sides finally agree to sign the contract.

Where does agree come from?

Language of origin: French

The word comes from the Old French agreer, which meant 'to receive with favour' or 'to take kindly', formed from the phrase a gre, literally 'to one's liking'. That gre traces back to the Latin gratum, meaning 'something pleasing or welcome', the same root that gives us 'grateful', 'gratitude' and 'grace'. English borrowed agree in the late 1300s, at first carrying the idea of being pleasing or satisfactory, and only later settling into the modern sense of two parties reaching the same opinion or consenting to something. The shift makes sense: when something is to your liking, you fall into accord with it, and that accord became the heart of the word. The double e at the end simply preserves the French spelling of gre with the silent vowel doubled, which is the small trap for writers who expect a single e.

How the word is built

• a- (to, from Latin ad)
• gree (pleasure, will, from Latin gratum 'something pleasing')