poison pill

noun

: a financial tactic or provision used by a company to make an unwanted takeover prohibitively expensive or less desirable

Examples of poison pill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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After Gabriel meets a gory fate at the business end of a biplane rudder, Ethan does his poison pill move and jumps but free-falls and flails frightfully for quite a bit of time before an emergency parachute saves him. Brian Truitt, USA Today, 25 May 2025 But tacking on a poison pill language to these bills won't guarantee any additional funding makes it to New Jersey, Nevada or any other state. Isabella Murray, ABC News, 29 July 2025 That put pressure on lawmakers in both houses to pass SB 131, despite robust opposition from many environmental groups and Republicans who objected to the poison pill provision. Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2025 In March of this year, BBRC International Private, an investment company run by Australian billionaire Brett Blundy, increased its stake in Victoria’s Secret to about 13%, prompting the retailer to adopt a poison pill to ward off a potential takeover. Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 28 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for poison pill

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of poison pill was in 1983

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Cite this Entry

“Poison pill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison%20pill. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

Legal Definition

poison pill

noun
poi·​son pill
: a financial tactic or provision used by a company to make an unwanted takeover prohibitively expensive or less desirable
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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