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
  • Lakes, rivers and the ocean pose additional hazards, including currents, changing depths and underwater obstacles, so families should take extra precautions when swimming there.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
  • Officials say that anyone in a sensitive group should watch for symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath and take precautions against prolonged exposure.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026
Definition of precautions
Noun
  • Likely to avoid other bad actors circumventing safeguards, xAI did not include examples of Harwood’s successful prompts or describe methods used to bypass filters.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026
  • What safeguards exist when enforcement actions increasingly originate from algorithmic analysis rather than direct human observation?
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 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 22 Jul. 2026.

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