due diligence

[ doo dil-i-juhns, dyoo ]

noun

, Law, Business.

1. reasonable care and caution exercised by a person who is buying, selling, giving professional advice, etc., especially as required by law to protect against incurring liability:

   The court said there was due diligence on the part of the plaintiff.

2. the process of gathering or disclosing relevant and reliable information about a prospective sale, purchase, contract, etc.:

   You should perform due diligence on a company before investing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of due diligence¹

First recorded in 1450–1500, for the earlier sense “requisite effort”; 1785–90, for the current sense

Example Sentences

It added that, the following January, a decision to acquire Northeye was taken by a small group of ministers and officials from across Whitehall, despite the "technical due diligence and approvals process not having been undertaken".

From BBC

In February 2023, an environmental review identified a contamination risk from "asbestos-containing materials in existing buildings and contaminated ground", while a due diligence report assessed conditions at the site as "high risk".

From BBC

In response, Academic Senate Chair Steven W. Cheung told regents that faculty disciplinary processes were meant to “protect our due diligence rights, our rights to a hearing, and to make sure we are deliberative in our decision-making.”

From Los Angeles Times

The charity said that their head, Fearghal McKinney, had a phone call with O'Neill in which she "agreed recent comments by her and party colleagues questioning the BHF’s due diligence process were unhelpful".

From BBC

But she also worries that in today’s polarized climate, election officials doing their due diligence to properly count the vote will be misinterpreted as opportunities for fraud.

From Los Angeles Times