Definition of "due diligence" []

• A legally binding process during which a potential buyer evaluates the assets and liabilities of a company. (noun)

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• "‘PresCorp got the jump on everyone else because they expected we would wait to do due diligence before launching a bid, but we’d already run our own confidential investigation."
• "Randy Neugebauer (R., Texas) and Michael Grimm (R., N.Y.) said in a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro in April that they are concerned the agency "may not be exercising the level of due diligence that is necessary to stop" people who don't own a company's shares from submitting proposals."
• "At a time when the nonprofit sector is grappling with economic fallout, government funding cuts and the stain of recent high-profile scandals, it is difficult to overstate the importance of conducting thorough due diligence on nonprofit organizations."