Whitemail
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A tactic to resist hostile takeover, in which the target company sells discounted stock to a friendly third party. uncountable
"Whitemail, which also appears unfair to some, may enhance shareholder value if the outside investor is able to influence management in a more positive way than other shareholders could."
- 2 Persuasion based on positive rather than negative effects. uncountable
"Certainly FDR was a master of his own kind of whitemail and practiced it on the likes of Harry Hopkins."
- 1 To persuade.
"Major League Baseball whitemailed ESPN into paying a lot more, and the only thing we can be assured of is that the same old products and announcers will come in clearer in 2000 thanks to digital technology."
- 2 Of a white person: to carry out blackmail. ironic
"Sweating heavily under the hot lights, he started off with a diatribe against British policy toward Uganda, especially London's recent decision to cancel a $24 million aid program, which Amin dismissed as "whitemailing.""
Example
More examples"Whitemail, which also appears unfair to some, may enhance shareholder value if the outside investor is able to influence management in a more positive way than other shareholders could."
Etymology
From white + mail, by analogy with blackmail.
Related phrases
More for "whitemail"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.