Meaning & use
checks and balances
Last updated
Meaning
phraseplural
A system in which different parts of a government or organization have powers that limit each other.
Grammar: Always plural; takes a plural verb, as in 'Checks and balances are essential.'
Patterns
- checks and balances between something
- a system of checks and balances
- checks and balances on something
The constitution creates checks and balances between the three branches of government.
Without checks and balances, a single leader could become too powerful.
The committee acts as part of the checks and balances on spending.
Common combinations
- a system of checks and balances
- The new law introduced a system of checks and balances to prevent abuse.
- checks and balances between
- There are checks and balances between the president and Congress.
- checks and balances on power
- The courts provide important checks and balances on government power.
- maintain checks and balances
- It is difficult to maintain checks and balances during a crisis.
Synonyms and how they differ
- separation of powers
- Separation of powers refers to dividing authority among branches; checks and balances focuses on how those branches limit each other.
- oversight
- Oversight means watching and supervising, but it does not necessarily imply mutual limits between equal branches.
Opposites
Commonly confused: checks and balances or checks and balances?
checks and balances vs checks and balances
Learners sometimes write 'check and balance' in the singular, but the fixed phrase is always plural.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'checks and balances' correctly.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is always plural and takes a plural verb, so 'checks and balances prevent' is correct. Option 1 uses the wrong singular form, option 2 uses a singular verb, and option 3 confuses the phrase with banking terms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “checks and balances”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.