merger

noun

merg·er ˈmər-jər

law : the absorption of an estate, a contract, or an interest in another, of a minor offense in a greater, or of a cause of action into a judgment

: the act or process of merging

: absorption by a corporation of one or more others

also : any of various methods of combining two or more organizations (such as business concerns)

Example Sentences

The law firm announced its $50 million merger with one of its competitors. If the proposed merger of the two oil companies goes through, it would be bad for the economy.

Recent Examples on the Web The Max launch comes a year after WarnerMedia and Discovery completed its $43 billion merger, with the combined company led by CEO David Zaslav. —

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2023 The merger, announced late last year, was poised to be one of the largest pharmaceutical deals in recent years. —

Rebecca Robbins, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2023 The company, formed by the merger of the country’s top two multiplex operators earlier this year, reported a loss of $40.7 million for the quarter ended March 31. —

Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 16 May 2023 The United Methodist Church, founded from a merger of Methodist churches in 1968, has dropped from 10.6 million U.S. members in 1970 to about 6.2 million before the pandemic in 2020, reflecting a broader decline in attendance and membership across mainline Protestant denominations. —

Greg Garrison | , al, 7 May 2023 This oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) company was formed in 2021 as a result of a merger between Cabot Oil & Gas and Cimarex Energy. —

Brett Owens, Forbes, 6 May 2023 Per the companies' definitive merger agreement, Darden will acquire all of Ruth's outstanding shares for $21.50 per share in an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $715 million. —

Camille Fine, USA TODAY, 3 May 2023 Ok, so all that explains why the merger maybe makes sense from Google’s perspective. —

Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2023 Deepmind Google's 'Code Red' panic over the rise of ChatGPT and its failure to excite the world with its AI products is resulting in a big merger. —

Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'merger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

merge + -er (as in waiver)

First Known Use

1728, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of merger was in 1728

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Merger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merger. Accessed 4 Jun. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

merger

noun

merg·er ˈmər-jər

: the combination of two or more businesses into one

Legal Definition

merger

noun

merg·er ˈmər-jər

: the absorption of a lesser estate or interest into a greater one held by the same person compare confusion

: the incorporation and superseding of one contract by another

: the treatment (as by statute) of two offenses deriving from the same conduct such that a defendant cannot be or is not punished for both especially when one offense is incidental to or necessarily included in the other

a merger of offenses in a statute

a merger of convictions

: the doctrine according to which such offenses must be merged compare double jeopardy

Note: Merger commonly involves the interpretation of statutes and legislative intent in deciding whether two or more offenses deriving from the same conduct remain distinct.

: a doctrine in civil litigation: a judgment in favor of a plaintiff incorporates and supersedes the cause of action and any claims based on it and requires that further litigation in the case by the defendant be concerned with the judgment itself compare bar sense 3b, estoppel by judgment at estoppel sense 2a, res judicata

: the superseding of a prior agreement in a divorce case by the divorce decree

: the act or process of merging

: absorption by one corporation of another

also : any of various methods of combining two or more organizations (as business concerns) compare consolidate

— cash merger

: a merger in which shareholders in the company to be absorbed receive cash for their shares rather than shares in the absorbing company a tender offer to be followed by a cash merger see also cash out

— de facto merger

: a merger that is characterized by the issuance of stock to the corporation to be absorbed rather than an outright purchase of assets for cash, by continued participation of the shareholders, directors, and employees of the absorbed corporation, and by an assumption of liabilities by the absorbing corporation

Note: Shareholders in a de facto merger are considered to have the same right to an appraisal of the fair value of their shares as shareholders in a statutory merger.

— short-form merger

: an accelerated statutory merger between a subsidiary and a parent corporation that controls a large specified majority of shares in the subsidiary

— statutory merger

: a merger performed in accordance with relevant statutes that require specific procedures for the notification and approval of shareholders