Which of the following terms means that one party makes a promise and the other may not?

The term that signifies one party makes a promise and the other party does not make a reciprocal promise is referred to as unilateral. In a unilateral contract, only one party is obligated to fulfill the promise set forth in the agreement, while the other party is not bound to make any promises in return. An example of this could be a reward offer; if someone offers a reward for finding a lost pet, only the person making the offer is bound to pay the reward when their conditions are met, while the person searching for the pet is not obligated to do so.

This understanding of unilateral contracts is important in the field of insurance adjusting, where one party may promise to pay a claim under certain conditions, and the policyholder, in turn, is not required to make any additional promises. This concept distinguishes unilateral contracts from bilateral contracts, where both parties have obligations to each other.