What is a non-disclosure agreement?

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also called a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), confidentiality agreement,  is a legal contract between at least two parties which outlines confidential materials the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict from generalized use. In other words, it is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement. A NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties.

Most NDAs are very standard language contracts.  It basically just says that you agree not to tell people our trade secrets.