full faith and credit
6
8.4
- noun
- /fʊl feɪθ ənd ˈkrɛdɪt/
- Formal
:
plena fe y crédito
- The fund is required by law to be invested in non-marketable securities issued and guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the federal government.
- full faith and credit clause
Examples
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While many states, particularly those with several tribes within their borders, grant some degree of comity to tribal judgments, only three currently give tribal judgments full faith and credit.
Academic text (2017) -
The loan application was approved because it had the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
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Guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the American people.
Blog text (19) -
I also believe your fishing and hunting license should have the same full faith and credit, too.
Blog text (6) -
Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects.
Blog text (34) -
I believe your driver's license and your marriage certificate are backed by the full faith and credit clause in the Constitution.
Blog text (6) -
In the case of general obligation bonds, the debt securities are enhanced by the full faith and credit of the issuer.
Academic text (2018) -
What the SSA holds in the trust fund are IOUs backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
Blog text (12) -
As previously suggested, greater willingness of states to grant full faith and credit to tribal decisions and to apply tribal law when appropriate under state choice-of-law rules would be productive steps in this direction.
Academic text (2017) -
Investors feel secure knowing that municipal bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of state governments.
Synonyms
169
3.5
A promise by someone to pay a debt if another person fails
4
8.2
A written promise to pay someone else's debt if they cannot
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'full' (complete), 'faith' (trust) and 'credit' (financial reliability) give a clear clue that the phrase relates to complete trust in financial backing, so a learner could infer it concerns strong assurance about repayment. However, the expression is a specialized legal/financial term whose institutional meaning as an unconditional government guarantee is technical and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so prior exposure is typically required.
Etymology
Full faith and credit paints a simple picture: full faith means complete trust and credit means a promise to pay, so it is like the government giving a strong, trusted promise that it will pay its debts. That's why today it means the government's unconditional guarantee 'to repay' the money it borrows.