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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
And Trump is off and running, his empire built on a poison pill.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 May 2024
The Ohio Senate passed a bill, but only after adding what Democrats viewed as a poison pill that would have banned foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns for or against ballot measures.
—Jonathan Entin, The Conversation, 15 May 2024
If Republicans move ahead with political amendments or measures that weaken the bill, known as poison pills, the minority party won't provide the votes when Johnson needs them, according to roughly a dozen Democrats familiar with the situation.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 19 Apr. 2024
The outlet reported that Yao was accused of giving Yao a bottle with 30 probiotic pills and one poison pill.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Littering appropriations bills with culture-war poison pills — as House Republicans had done in versions of spending legislation last year — would have doomed its chances of passage.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Every now and then, science serves up poison pills.
—Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024
That comes with a backside poison pill of potentially losing their franchise quarterback via free agency in 2025.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Feb. 2024
His poison pill restriction already complicates matters.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poison pill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1983, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near poison pill
Cite this Entry
“Poison pill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison%20pill. Accessed 12 Jun. 2024.
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
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