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checks and balances

powers that let branches of government limit each other

In Politics & Diplomacy

In more detail

1. (noun) a system in which different parts of a government have power to limit or control each other, preventing any one part from becoming too powerful

2. (noun) any system designed to prevent one person or group from having too much control or power

Examples

• 1. The U.S. Constitution created checks and balances so that the president, Congress, and courts can limit each other's power.
• 2. In our company, we use checks and balances—two people must approve every large purchase to prevent fraud.

How to use checks and balances

This term originates from political discourse and describes institutional mechanisms that prevent excessive concentration of power. It is used formally in political and governance contexts, and increasingly in business and organizational settings to describe any system where different parties can limit each other's authority. The phrase functions as a fixed noun phrase and is more common in formal or academic writing than everyday speech.

Register: formal

Common phrases

• system of checks and balances
• checks and balances in government
• maintain checks and balances
• weaken checks and balances
• constitutional checks and balances

Synonyms

separation of powers · system of oversight · mutual restraint · power distribution · regulatory safeguards

Opposites

autocracy · tyranny · monopoly of power

A common mistake

Learners sometimes treat 'checks and balances' as two separate concepts rather than a unified system; the phrase is a fixed expression and the two elements are interdependent parts of the same mechanism.

Nearby in Politics & Diplomacy

bipartisan, cabinet, censure, civil liberties, consulate, coup

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained