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Glite Dictionary
🛍️ Plastic film 📄 A license contract
shrink-wrap

shrink-wrap

6.8
A set of terms included with a product that you must accept before use
  • noun
  • /ʃrɪŋk ræp/
  • Jargon
translation icon : contrato de adhesión
  • Many times the software is licensed through a "shrink-wrap" agreement whereby the customer agrees to the contract by opening the software package.

It took me a while to learn how to sell shrink wrap software.

Examples

  • Before installing the program, I read the shrink-wrap license that came with the software to understand my rights.

  • Because many companies license software through "shrink-wrap" agreements, a question was asked to determine if students had read the licensing agreement on software packages.

    Academic text (1991)

  • It took me a while to learn how to sell shrink wrap software.

    Dr. Phil

  • Many software products require acceptance of the terms in the shrink-wrap agreement once the package is opened.

  • Users must agree to the shrink-wrap terms included in the package before they can legally use the software.

Surface Forms

shrink-wrap singular
shrink-wraps plural

Etymology

Shrink-wrap for a contract is a helpful image: think of the parts shrink ('become smaller') and wrap ('cover') and imagine the terms 'wrapped' inside the package by that shrinking film, because they only show when you open it, so a 'shrink-wrap' license means rules you accept by unwrapping or using the product.