golden parachute
noun
an employment contract or agreement guaranteeing a key executive of a company substantial severance pay and other financial benefits in the event of job loss caused by the company's being sold or merged.
Nearby words
Origin of golden parachute
First recorded in 1980–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for golden parachute
golden parachute
noun
informal a clause in the employment contract of a senior executive providing for special benefits if the executive's employment is terminated as a result of a takeover
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
Culture definitions for golden parachute (1 of 2)
golden parachute
A provision in the contracts of many top executives that guarantees substantial benefits if they lose their positions.
Culture definitions for golden parachute (2 of 2)
golden parachute
A generous package of benefits offered to an employee as an inducement for early retirement or departure from a company: “Following the merger, many executives decided to leave after the offer of a golden parachute.”
Note
The term golden handshake means essentially the same thing: “The principal accepted the golden handshake in lieu of being demoted to assistant principal.”
Note
Both expressions are from the last quarter of the twentieth century, when such packages were offered frequently.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.