due diligence

American  

[doo dil-i-juhns, dyoo] / ˈdu ˈdɪl ɪ dʒəns, ˈdju /

noun

Law, Business.

1. reasonable care and caution exercised by a person who is buying, selling, giving professional advice, etc., especially as required by law to protect against incurring liability.

   The court said there was due diligence on the part of the plaintiff.

2. the process of gathering or disclosing relevant and reliable information about a prospective sale, purchase, contract, etc..

   You should perform due diligence on a company before investing.

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Usage

What does due diligence mean? Due diligence most generally means reasonable care and caution or the proper actions that a situation calls for, especially those that help to avoid harm or risk. Due means “proper” or “required.” In legal contexts, diligence means “the degree of care required in a given situation.” In this way, due diligence is the level of care or caution that a specific situation calls for. Due diligence is especially used in legal and business contexts involving buying, selling, or giving professional advice. This kind of due diligence is often required by law in order to prevent liability. The phrase due diligence can also refer to the process of researching or disclosing pertinent information before entering into a contract or deal. For example, in the sale of a house, due diligence on the part of the seller involves disclosing information about the house, such as major problems and the dates when repairs were made. The buyer performs their due diligence by gathering this information and making the proper inspections of the house before the purchase. It can also be used in more general contexts, as in Don’t believe everything you read on the internet—do your due diligence and fact-check anything that sounds fishy. The phrase is often used with the verbs perform and do. Example: Be sure to do your due diligence before investing—you want to be sure where your money is going and what the terms are.

Etymology

Origin of due diligence

First recorded in 1450–1500, for the earlier sense “requisite effort”; 1785–90, for the current sense

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

due diligence

The institution will also have to undergo an independent review of its programs for monitoring suspicious activity, and on other forms of due diligence.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

"However, this may not be obvious through our existing systems and so researchers are also advised to undertake appropriate due diligence to identify the ultimate source of funding for collaborations with Chinese institutions."

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

She also said Buzbee and other lawyers acting on her behalf filed it "without conducting any independent investigation, background inquiry, or due diligence, and without obtaining any corroboration of the allegations".

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Last week, Cleanaway said EQT was continuing its due diligence and remained committed to entering an implementation deed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

The sheer difficulty they had obtaining the information suggested that most investors were simply skipping this stage of their due diligence.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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