What characterizes a unilateral contract?

A unilateral contract is characterized by the commitment of one party to perform a specific action or fulfill an obligation without requiring a corresponding promise or commitment from the other party. In this type of contract, one party makes a promise to reward or compensate the other party upon the performance of a specific act. For instance, a common scenario is a reward offer; when someone promises to pay a reward for finding a lost pet, only the person who finds the pet is obligated to act, while the person offering the reward is not mutually obligated to do anything until the act is completed.

This distinct nature of unilateral contracts is what differentiates them from bilateral contracts, where both parties have mutual obligations and promises. As a result, the essence of a unilateral contract lies solely in the promise made by one party, emphasizing the lack of expectation for reciprocal promises from the other party.