white knight
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.26 in modern English
25
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An individual or corporation that intends to acquire another company in order to avert a hostile takeover.
noun
A hero, savior, or righteous individual.
noun
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see white, knight.
Example Sentences
- "Forget about one possible white knight for Potash. Vale, the big Brazilian mining company, denied on Monday afternoon that it was in talks to acquire the giant Canadian fertilizer company."
- "After hearing her version of events, Lt. Wright assumed the role of white knight. He demanded that she file a formal complaint. She demurred, so the next day, over her objection, he alerted the academy."
- "The white knight is attacking the pawn on e4."