conflict of interest

noun

1. the circumstance of a public officeholder, business executive, or the like, whose personal interests might benefit from their official actions or influence:

   The senator placed his stocks in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.

2. the circumstance of a person who finds that one of their own activities, interests, etc., can be advanced only at the expense of another of them.

Word History and Origins

Origin of conflict of interest¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

From Science Daily

Critics said there was a conflict of interest.

From BBC

No other potential conflicts of interest are disclosed.

From Science Daily

This conflict of interest is not the only contradiction at play.

From Salon

His remit was to “clean up the corruption,” “end the conflicts of interest,” and “return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold standard, empirically based, evidence-based science, evidence-based medicine,” Kennedy said.

From Science Magazine