Due diligence is the careful checking done before a deal is signed. Carry out due diligence, due diligence turned up nothing, skip the due diligence.
It means reading the contracts, the accounts and the court records rather than trusting what the seller says. The phrase has spread out of finance and is now used of any careful check.
1noundue diligenceThe careful checking done before a deal is signed.
“Due diligence found two lawsuits nobody had mentioned.”
due diligence is a check.
Practised in Business & Money