Word.ws English Dictionary

offer one can't refuse

offer one can't refuse noun: an offer from one side in a transaction with terms so attractive that the other side is almost guaranteed to accept.

Noun

offer one can't refuse (plural offers one can't refuse)

  1. (idiomatic) An offer from one side in a transaction with terms so attractive that the other side is almost guaranteed to accept.
    • But in 2001 the government of Singapore made him an offer he couldn't refuse: the directorship of the brand new Genome Institute along with a $25 million starting budget.2006 February 5, Michael D. Lemonick, “Are We Losing Our Edge?”, in Time
  2. (idiomatic) A threatening offer by one party for which the results of failing to accept are so unattractive that the other party is almost compelled to accept.
    • The Mafia godfather Rocco . . . makes Jack an offer he can't refuse: marry Carol or else.1991 September 22, Edward Rothstein, “Film: Hard Up for a Plot? Get With the Program”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 Jul 2012
    Synonyms:
    extortion

Synonyms of offer one can't refuse

Forms of offer one can't refuse

pluraloffers one can't refuse

Origin of offer one can't refuse

Unknown. A famous example is found in the film The Godfather (1972).

Questions about offer one can't refuse

What does offer one can't refuse mean?
Offer one can't refuse means an offer from one side in a transaction with terms so attractive that the other side is almost guaranteed to accept.
What part of speech is offer one can't refuse?
Offer one can't refuse is a noun.
What is the plural of offer one can't refuse?
The plural of offer one can't refuse is offers one can't refuse.

Words near offer one can't refuse in the dictionary

  1. offer a knee
  2. offer affordances
  3. offer curve
  4. offer curves
  5. offer of proof
  6. offer one can't refuse
  7. offer one's condolences
  8. offer the light
  9. offer up
  10. offer versus serve
  11. offer wanted

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: offer one can't refuse (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-an offer one can't refuse.ogg.

Cite this entry: “offer one can't refuse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/offer_one_can%27t_refuse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.