Make Your Editor Cry: Do Diligence vs. Due Diligence
“Due” can mean “owed,” as in a bill has come due. Or it can mean satisfying or capable of satisfying a need, obligation, or duty as in due course. It can also mean exactly, as in due south.
“Due diligence” is a business and legal term. It means you will investigate an individual or company before signing a contract. “Do” does not meet this criterion.
The correct expression is “due diligence.”
Examples:
The lawyer did all of the necessary due diligence to prepare a case before the trial.
If due diligence would have been done, the accident could have been prevented.
While you should perform due diligence before buying a used car, you also shouldn’t be paranoid.
Gregg Bridgeman is the Editor-in-Chief at Olivia Kimbrell Press. He is husband to best-selling Christian author Hallee Bridgeman and parent to three. He continues to proudly serve in the US Armed Forces and has done so in either an active or reserve capacity for more than twenty years as an airborne and air assault qualified paratrooper, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Most importantly, he was ordained in October of 2001 after surrendering his life to Christ decades earlier.