Thesaurus results for FAIL-SAFES

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

Relevance

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

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

Given that humans at OpenAI had decided to turn off some safeguards for the test, some have argued the outcome should not have been terribly surprising.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
Additional safeguards can slow their work and require more computing resources, creating tension between safety and performance.

— Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 23 July 2026

Definition of safeguards

Browse Nearby Words

fail-safe

fail-safes

fails (at)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fail-safes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safes. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fail-safes

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

itinerant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes