honor system
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of honor system
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
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.
Just the honor system and a makeshift security camera I bolted to the top.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
About half of schools chose to use the honor system.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025
It was set up as an honor system intentionally.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2024
At the same time, people paying their fares on the honor system also dropped.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2023
Alex felt like he should take a number, but they were on the honor system, remembering who was there before them and who arrived after.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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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.