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exit strategy

American  
[eg-zit strat-i-jee, ek-sit] / ˈɛg zɪt ˌstræt ɪ dʒi, ˈɛk sɪt /

noun

  1. a plan for getting out of a difficult or unfavorable situation.

    committing troops without an exit strategy.

  2. a plan that maximizes profits when liquidating investments or a business.


exit strategy British  

noun

  1. a method or plan for extricating oneself from an undesirable situation

  2. a plan and timetable for withdrawal from a military engagement

  3. the method by which an investor intends to cash out of an investment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of exit strategy

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Go too deep into that realm, O’Malley said, and it becomes a “roach trap” from which “you never feel like there’s an exit strategy.”

From Salon

He said that an activist investor had been threatening to take over the board and fire him and other executives, and a sale seemed like the best exit strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal

If Ferguson was trying to explain Kissinger’s Vietnam exit strategy, he did not succeed; if he was trying to confuse the issue, he did.

From Salon

It said that Rodgers was damaging Celtic with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was managing his exit strategy.

From BBC

Still, despite being regularly exposed to horrors like this, Claude’s new exit strategy is largely cosmetic.

From Slate