In corporate finance, a “poison pill” is a defensive measure a company uses to make a hostile takeover less attractive or harder to complete. The guide treats it as a specialized current business term rather than inventing an origin story.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
In corporate finance, a “poison pill” is a defensive strategy intended to make a hostile takeover less attractive or harder to complete.
Key details
Canonical Formpoison pill
Core Meaninga defensive measure a company uses to make itself less attractive or more difficult for a hostile acquirer to take over
Further guidance
History Boundary
Current business-dictionary meaning is published without claiming a precise inventor, coinage date, or absolute first use.
Meaning
a defensive measure a company uses to make itself less attractive or more difficult for a hostile acquirer to take over
Usage Boundary
This is a specialized corporate-finance and takeover expression; do not broaden it to mean any unpleasant condition or disadvantage.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
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A “price war” is aggressive price competition in which rivals repeatedly lower prices. The guide keeps current meaning separate from unsupported origin claims.
A “race to the bottom” describes competitive pressure that pushes participants toward ever-lower costs or standards. The guide keeps current meaning separate from unsupported origin claims.
A “seller’s market” is a market where demand exceeds available supply, typically allowing sellers to charge more or sell more easily. The phrase describes an imbalance favoring sellers; it does not guarantee that every seller or item will achieve a higher price.
“A dime a dozen” is a chiefly US idiom for something very common, easy to find, and not especially distinctive. The wording can carry a dismissive tone when it suggests that something is readily replaceable.
“A drop in the bucket” describes an amount that is very small compared with what is needed or compared with a much larger whole. Cambridge labels it as the US form and gives “a drop in the ocean” as the UK counterpart.
