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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Houston and Phoenix aren’t allowed to finalize the trade until July 6 due to the ‘poison pill’ restriction in Green’s contract. Shane Young, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025 It’s been a complicated stretch for the Victoria’s Secret board, which, in the midst of the website outage last week, also imposed a poison pill shareholder rights plan to prevent Australian entrepreneur Brett Blundy’s BBRC International from buying the company without paying a control premium. Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 June 2025 In literally the blink of an eye, Grace flips the switch and traps the Entity inside the poison pill, saving the day. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 23 May 2025 In a massive setback, Republicans failed to push their big package of tax breaks and spending cuts through the Budget Committee as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it (Associated Press) GOP budget plan contains a massive poison pill for clean energy. Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 19 May 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 3 Jul. 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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