restrictive covenant

restrictive covenant (plural restrictive covenants)

1. (law) An agreement between parties limiting or restricting the use of land owned by one of the parties.
2. (law) A noncompete agreement
   • 2019, Paul Greco, "How To Make Sure Restrictive Covenants Survive A Restructuring", Life Science Leader, VertMarkets.

     Careful to protect the goodwill it is developing with these providers, the life sciences company decides to use restrictive covenants — i.e., noncompetes, in the popular vernacular — to ensure the sales reps cannot compete for a period of time after changing jobs and potentially transfer the value of burgeoning customer relationships to some new employer.