(informal) An escape clause; a clause in a legal contract permitting one of the parties to escape ("weasel out of") its obligations under some circumstances.

(law) A provision within a business agreement or employment contract which stipulates that the contracting party must abstain from competitive practices not in the interests of an identified firm, such as starting a competing business or accepting a job with a competitor, and often extending for a period of time after the termination of the original employment or other business relationship.

plural of noun clause

(UK, law) A term in a tenancy agreement that allows the tenancy to come to an end before the stated date of termination. It may be enforced by either the landlord or the tenant.

plural of testing clause

(Scotland, law) The last clause in a Scottish deed, which narrates when and where the parties signed the deed, before what witnesses, by whose hand written, etc.

plural of break clause

plural of small clause

(grammar) A minimal predicate structure that possesses arguments and predicates but no tense: small clauses usually occur within the context of full clauses and may act as the direct object of the verb.

(logic) A Horn clause with exactly one positive literal.