a term limit is a law that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. when term limits are found in presidential systems, they act as a method to reduce the potential for monopoly. this is when a leader effectively becomes a "president for life". term limits are intended to protect a democracy from becoming a de facto dictatorship. sometimes, there is an absolute limit on the number of terms an officeholder can serve. in other cases, the restrictions are merely on the number of consecutive (one directly following the other) terms.