proposal
Pluralproposals
- 1
- 2An offer of marriage made by one person to another.
Her proposal came as a complete surprise during dinner.
He rehearsed his proposal a dozen times before the big day.
Similaroverture, proposition, proffer
Note
Older writing spells the occasion out in full. Dickens's Hard Times (1854) and Wodehouse's Three Men and a Maid (1922) both say proposal of marriage. Today the bare noun carries that meaning whenever the setting is romantic, so a newspaper can write that she accepted his proposal. When the full sense is wanted, the noun can also take an infinitive: a proposal to marry him.
- 3The written document on which a plan or offer is set out for consideration.
The proposal sat on her desk, bound and ready for the meeting.
He spilled coffee on the printed proposal an hour before the deadline.
Similarproposition
- 4The specific terms or conditions that someone puts forward for agreement.
Both sides reviewed the proposal line by line before signing.
Her proposal set out clear deadlines and payment terms.
Similarproposition, overture, proffer
- 5An offer made by one party regarding an intended business transaction, which becomes a contract once the other party accepts it.
The seller's proposal became enforceable the moment the buyer accepted it.
A proposal lapses if it is not accepted within the stated period.
Similartender, offer, proposition, proffer, overture
Note
Contract law treats a proposal as one half of a bargain. On its own it binds no one, and only the other party's acceptance turns it into a contract. That makes the word more exact here than in everyday speech, where a proposal can be a loose idea. In legal drafting it sits beside offer and tender, and the natural verbs are make, accept and reject.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from the verb "propose" combined with the suffix "-al".