checks and balances

[cheks uhn bal-uhn-siz]

plural noun

1. limits imposed on all branches of a government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or void those acts of another that fall within its purview.

checks and balances

plural noun

1. government competition and mutual restraint among the various branches of government

Word History and Origins

Origin of checks and balances¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Idioms and Phrases

System whereby each branch of an organization can limit the powers of the other branches, as in The union has used a system of checks and balances to prevent any large local from dominating its policies. This system was enacted through the Constitution of the United States in order to prevent any of its three branches from dominating the Federal government. The term is occasionally transferred to other mechanisms for balancing power.

Example Sentences

In this episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick discusses the recent deployment of the National Guard in Washington D.C. and its implications for checks and balances in the U.S. legal system.

From Slate

Before Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a buzzsaw to our trust in constitutional checks and balances, people were still buying his cars despite multiple allegations of racist abuse at his plants and fatal accidents related to Tesla’s self-driving system failures.

From Salon

This process is characterized as a deliberate attempt to install loyalists who couldn’t survive the constitutional confirmation process, thereby undermining democratic checks and balances.

From Los Angeles Times

This is exactly the type of overreach that our country’s founders warned against, and it’s the reason that they established a federal system with a separation of powers built on checks and balances.

From Slate

"There are no checks and balances within Reform."

From BBC

When To Use

What does checks and balances mean?

Checks and balances refers to a system of power that is divided into parts or branches. Each branch can stop or limit the powers of the others. Checks and balances are frequently used in governments, especially national governments.A system of checks and balances is fundamental to the United States’s federal government. The first three articles of the U.S. Constitution establish this system. The checks and balances ensure no one person or group has all the political power and can’t unjustly enforce their will on the nation’s citizens. The system is also intended to encourage cooperation, compromise, and debate between the branches of government.America’s system of government is divided into the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and the executive branch. Each branch has ways it can limit the power of the others. Checks and balances exist at every level  of American government (federal, state, and sometimes local).At the federal level, the legislative branch is Congress, the judicial branch is the federal court system (at the top of which is the Supreme Court), and the executive branch is led by the president. Creating laws is one way the U.S. uses checks and balances. Congress suggests a law in a bill. When it has enough votes, the bill goes to the president, who can accept or reject (veto) it. If the president vetoes a bill, it goes back to Congress. Congress can make changes or vote on it again. If two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives (the two parts of Congress) approve it, the bill becomes a law. However, the Supreme Court can rule a law unconstitutional, which means it is no longer a law.