Legal Definitions - essence, of the

Definition: When a contractual requirement is so important that if it is not met, the person who made the promise will be considered to have broken the contract and the other person can cancel the contract. This is known as "of the essence".

Example: If a contractor agrees to finish building a house by a certain date, and the contract states that "time is of the essence", then if the contractor does not finish the house by that date, the homeowner can cancel the contract and hire someone else to finish the job.

This example illustrates how the phrase "of the essence" is used to emphasize the importance of meeting a specific requirement in a contract. In this case, the requirement is the deadline for completing the construction project.