mysqldump: "Table definition has changed, please retry transaction when dumping table"

Symptoms

When attempting to process a mysqldump either manually or through cPanel's Backup system, you may encounter the below error message:

“/usr/bin/mysqldump” reported error code “$” when it ended: mysqldump: Error 1412: Table definition has changed, please retry transaction when dumping table `$table_name` at row: $

Description 

This error message generally occurs when the database during a dump is altered. Causing the exported database to not match the original database that was being exported.

This is commonly a one time deal, as it could be a result of an active query that was caught seconds within or during the mysqldump.

Workaround

If the issue occurred during a cPanel Backup, you can quickly attempt to replicate the error to see if it's still ongoing using the below command:

# mysqldump -v $database > $database.sql

The command should generate the MySQL dump without issue. If the issue continues anytime a dump is generated on the database, then the database and table in question would need to be reviewed.