diligence
1 Americannoun
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constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.
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Law. the degree of care and caution required by the circumstances of a person.
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Obsolete. care; caution.
noun
noun
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steady and careful application
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proper attention or care
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law the degree of care required in a given situation
noun
Etymology
Origin of diligence1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English deligence, from Anglo-French, from Latin dīligentia, equivalent to dīligent- (stem of dīligēns ) diligent ( def. ) + -ia; see -ence ( def. )
Origin of diligence2
First recorded in 1735–45; short for French carosse de diligence “speed coach”
Explanation
If you practice diligence, you are a hard and careful worker. Do you have the diligence to read all the collected works of Henry James? Of course not. Nobody has, but a couple of his early novels won't hurt. Here's a tip: never buy anything big, like a house or a car or a boat, without first exercising what lawyers call "due diligence" — that is, a real degree of care and attention and effort, not to mention a close reading of the small print. Diligence may help you realize the Brooklyn Bridge is not actually yours to buy, or that your potential neighbor has 112 cats living next door.
Vocabulary lists containing diligence
Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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This Week In Words: August 24–30, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it turned out to be too good to be true: A quick bit of due diligence revealed that the buyer wasn’t all that he promised.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
But Monnier at Citi Wealth argues that the pendulum is swinging back a bit as families realize that doing their own due diligence on a company is a lot of work.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
All of them insist their investigation was carried out with due diligence and without external political influence.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
“This investment was made after thorough diligence of the investment structure and the underlying documentation,” Prasad said in a statement on his fund’s stake in Anthropic.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
Outside under the window were some carts and an old diligence, the wood of the roof cracked and split by the weather.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
