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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Such precautions, of course, did not prevent a gunman from sprinting through a security checkpoint outside this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The defense said Allen's presence on suicide precautions limits his ability to mount a defense and deprives him of his due process rights.—
Garrett Downs,
CNBC,
3 May 2026
Noun
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Such variances can come into play whenever the strict application of community guidelines would cause undue hardship, and directors may also consider conditional approvals that require additional safeguards and modifications.—
Nicole R. Kurtz,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2026
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With some consumers increasingly trying to get their medical information on the internet, Turco said the bill provides safeguards for physical and mental health.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safes. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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