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
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Recent Examples of fail-safes
The team also developed numerous fail-safes to ensure consistent, trustworthy performance.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 26 Sep. 2016
IEEE Spectrum, 26 Sep. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fail-safes
Noun
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Health officials reiterated the passengers will not be quarantined but will be advised to take certain precautions.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
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When cleaning areas like a garden shed or garage, de la Sancha advises Chicagoans to take precautions.—
Allison Kiehl,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
Noun
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The surrogacy process has safeguards in place to ensure the safety of all parties involved.—
Ann Marie Luft,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
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The report also notes that 10 Republican state attorneys general have urged the SEC to closely examine OpenAI’s disclosures ahead of a potential public offering, while Congress has separately requested information about the company’s safeguards around conflicts of interest.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safes. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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