exclusivity
/ˌekskluːˈsɪvɪti/
/-əṱi/ noun [U] Definition
› the state of being the only person, group of people, or organization that is allowed to have or do something: grant/lose/retain exclusivity (on sth) The company which developed the hardware was granted one-year exclusivity on the retails sales. Astra's global market exclusivity on the drug ended last year. an exclusivity agreement/clause/deal
› (also exclusiveness /ɪkˈskluːsɪvnəs/) the state of being expensive and of a high quality, and therefore only for people who are rich or of a high social class: If a product lowers its quality it will not retain its exclusivity as a luxury brand.
› an agreement not to speak to other possible buyers while your business is being bought by a particular person or company: The two companies have an agreed period of exclusivity which prevents either seeking alternative buyers before the end of January 2011.
(Definition of exclusivity noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse the Thesaurus
Our dictionaries
Browse the Dictionary
Word of the Day
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
