fail-safes

noun

plural of fail-safe
as in precautions
a measure taken to preclude loss or injury there are so many fail-safes built into the system that a highly unlikely series of mistakes would have to be made before failure could occur

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fail-safes Deeper studies of such events can help manufacturers implement fail-safes to protect solar panels in the future. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 25 May 2026 The team also developed numerous fail-safes to ensure consistent, trustworthy performance. — IEEE Spectrum, 26 Sep. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fail-safes
  1. precautions
  2. safeguards
Noun
  • Water systems have long been particularly attractive targets for our adversaries as these utilities provide essential services but often use outdated industrial control systems with many water systems lacking even basic cybersecurity precautions.
    — Steve Weisman, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The federal advisory said the malicious cyber actors, or MCAs, targeted specific brands of control systems used by municipal water utilities, though the FBI and the EPA urged operators of all systems to take precautions.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 31 July 2026
Definition of precautions
Noun
  • The earliest cases dated to April and occurred in evaluation environments that lacked what the company described as standard safeguards.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 31 July 2026
  • But Nhan said the cameras also raise privacy concerns and should be paired with strict safeguards governing how the technology is used, how long data is stored and who can access it.
    — Briauna Brown, CBS News, 30 July 2026
Definition of safeguards

Browse Nearby Words

fail-safe
fail-safes
fails (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Fail-safes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safes. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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