Glossary
Contract
As the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service defines it, in the words of its USAspending glossary.
Official definition
Contract means a mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of commitments that obligate the government to an expenditure of appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts include (but are not limited to) awards and notices of awards; job orders or task letters issued under basic ordering agreements; letter contracts; orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance; and bilateral contract modifications. Contracts do not include grants and cooperative agreements covered by 31 U.S.C. 6301, et seq.
In plain language
An agreement between the federal government and a prime recipient to provide goods and services for a fee.
On this site
Federal agencies obligated $778.0 billion in contracts in fiscal year 2025. See the figures →
Every term: the glossary. The hub: Federal spending.
Sources
- USAspending glossary — U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service · retrieved September 26, 2026
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