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reopener

reopener

1 7.5
Part of a contract that lets people talk again about terms later
  • noun
  • /ˌriːoʊˈpənər/
  • Formal
: cláusula de reapertura
  • The team negotiated a reopener in their contract to ensure they could adjust salary terms after a review.
  • reopener clause

Examples

  • The labor agreement included a wage reopener clause that allowed for salary discussions in the upcoming year.

  • While current information suggests that Maine DEP is foregoing this option in exchange for other considerations from TRC and the settling PRPs, this does not preclude the use of such reopeners in the future.

    Academic text (1999)
  • After the initial terms were set, they included a reopener to revisit the agreement if conditions changed.

How Negotiable

reopener
  • Formal
1 7.5
clause
  • Formal
164 5.3

Surface Forms

reopener singular
reopeners plural

Morphology

reopener = reopen (semi-transparent) = re + open + er

The connection to 'reopen' is clear, but the specialized legal sense 'contract clause allowing later renegotiation' is not a fully predictable everyday use of '-er'.

Etymology

Reopener comes from re- 'again', open 'not closed', and -er 'a thing or person'. So a reopener is something that 'opens again', which in a contract is a part that lets the parties start talks again later.