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Definition of "honor system" [honor system]

  • A set of procedures under which persons, especially students or prisoners, are trusted to act without direct supervision in situations that might allow for dishonest behavior. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "honor system" in a sentence
  • "WARREN: But as Bill was talking, it just occurred to me that if you dont trust the government to do a lot of things very welland business will never trust them to do that; rich people will never trust them to do thatand if, on the other hand, the honor system doesnt work particularly well in terms of how many people behaveand this idea just occurred to me ten seconds ago, so it will take a lot of refining."
Words like "honor system"