To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit.
To be unsuccessful: an experiment that failed.
To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum.
To prove insufficient in quantity or duration; give out: The water supply failed during the drought.
To decline, as in strength or effectiveness: The light began to fail.
To cease functioning properly: The engine failed.
To give way or be made otherwise useless as a result of excessive strain: The rusted girders failed and caused the bridge to collapse.
To become bankrupt or insolvent: Their business failed during the last recession.
v.
tr.
To disappoint or prove undependable to: Our sentries failed us.
To abandon; forsake: His strength failed him.
To omit to perform (an expected duty, for example): "We must . . . hold . . . those horrors up to the light of justice. Otherwise we would fail our inescapable obligation to the victims of Nazism: to remember"(Anthony Lewis).
To leave undone; neglect: failed to wash the dishes.
To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum in (a course, for example): failed algebra twice.
To give such a grade of failure to (a student): failed me in algebra.
n.
Failure to deliver securities to a purchaser within a specified time.
Failure to receive the proceeds of a transaction, as in the sale of stock or securities, by a specified date.
[Middle English failen, from Old French faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallīre, variant of Latin fallere, to deceive.]
c.1225, from O.Fr. faillir "be lacking, miss, not succeed," from V.L. *fallire, from L. fallere "deceive, be lacking or defective." Replaced O.E. abreoðan. The Anglo-Norm. form, failer, came to be used as a noun, hence failure (1643). Fail-safe dates from 1948.
fail to do something; leave something undone; "She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib"; "The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account"
2.
be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" [ant: bring home the bacon]
3.
disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis"
4.
stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"
5.
be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" [ant: bring off]
6.
judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" [ant: pass]
7.
fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" [ant: make it]
8.
fall short in what is expected; "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"
9.
become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"
10.
prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
Main Entry: fail Pronunciation: 'fA(&)l Function: intransitive verb 1: to weaken or lose strength <her health was failing>
2: to stop functioning <the patient's heart failed>
A transaction that has not been settled before a deadline.
Investopedia Commentary
Presently, firms have three days after the date of a trade
to settle stock transactions. Within this timeframe, securities and cash must be delivered to the clearing house for settlement. If firms are unable to meet this deadline a fail will occur.
Settlement requirements for stock, options, futures contracts, forwards, and fixed-income securities differ.
Of or relating to a trade in which the seller does not deliver securities or the buyer does not deliver funds in the prescribed manner at the prescribed time, usually on the
settlement date. Compare clear.
Main Entry: fail Function: intransitive verb 1: to be or become inadequate or unsuccessful esp. in fulfilling certain formal requirements <even though one or more
terms are left open a contract for sale does not fail for indefiniteness —Uniform Commercial Code> 2: to become bankrupt or insolvent transitive verb :
to leave undone or neglect to do <fail to appear in court> <fail to read a contract>
Fail\v. i. [imp. & p. p. Failed; p. pr. & vb. n. Failing.] [F. failir, fr. L. fallere, falsum, to deceive, akin to E. fall. See Fail, and cf. Fallacy, False, Fault.]1. To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence; to cease to be furnished in the usual or expected manner, or to be altogether cut off from supply; to be lacking; as, streams fail; crops fail. As the waters fail from the sea. --Job xiv. 11. Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign. --Shak. 2. To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; -- used with of. If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not be attributed to their size. --Berke. 3. To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. --Milton. 4. To deteriorate in respect to vigor, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker; as, a sick man fails. 5. To perish; to die; -- used of a person. [Obs.] Had the king in his last sickness failed. --Shak. 6. To be found wanting with respect to an action or a duty to be performed, a result to be secured, etc.; to miss; not to fulfill expectation. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. --Ezra iv. 22. Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. --Shak. 7. To come short of a result or object aimed at or desired; to be baffled or frusrated. Our envious foe hath failed. --Milton. 8. To err in judgment; to be mistaken. Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps Shall grieve him, if I fail not. --Milton. 9. To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
Fail\v. i. [imp. & p. p. Failed; p. pr. & vb. n. Failing.] [F. failir, fr. L. fallere, falsum, to deceive, akin to E. fall. See Fail, and cf. Fallacy, False, Fault.]1. To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence; to cease to be furnished in the usual or expected manner, or to be altogether cut off from supply; to be lacking; as, streams fail; crops fail. As the waters fail from the sea. --Job xiv. 11. Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign. --Shak. 2. To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; -- used with of. If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not be attributed to their size. --Berke. 3. To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. --Milton. 4. To deteriorate in respect to vigor, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker; as, a sick man fails. 5. To perish; to die; -- used of a person. [Obs.] Had the king in his last sickness failed. --Shak. 6. To be found wanting with respect to an action or a duty to be performed, a result to be secured, etc.; to miss; not to fulfill expectation. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. --Ezra iv. 22. Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. --Shak. 7. To come short of a result or object aimed at or desired; to be baffled or frusrated. Our envious foe hath failed. --Milton. 8. To err in judgment; to be mistaken. Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps Shall grieve him, if I fail not. --Milton. 9. To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
Fail\, v. t. 1. To be wanting to; to be insufficient for; to disappoint; to desert. There shall not fail thee a man on the throne. --1 Kings ii. 4. 2. To miss of attaining; to lose. [R.] Though that seat of earthly bliss be failed. --Milton.
Fail\, n. [OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.]1. Miscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail. "His highness' fail of issue." --Shak. 2. Death; decease. [Obs.] --Shak.
Fail\, n. [OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.]1. Miscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail. "His highness' fail of issue." --Shak. 2. Death; decease. [Obs.] --Shak.
Fail"ure\, n. [From Fail.]1. Cessation of supply, or total defect; a failing; deficiency; as, failure of rain; failure of crops. 2. Omission; nonperformance; as, the failure to keep a promise. 3. Want of success; the state of having failed. 4. Decay, or defect from decay; deterioration; as, the failure of memory or of sight. 5. A becoming insolvent; bankruptcy; suspension of payment; as, failure in business. 6. A failing; a slight fault. [Obs.] --Johnson.
Fall\ (f[add]l), v. i. [imp. Fell; p. p. Fallen; p. pr. & vb. n. Falling.] [AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.]1. To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer. I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. --Luke x. 18. 2. To cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent posture; to become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters and falls; a tree falls; a worshiper falls on his knees. I fell at his feet to worship him. --Rev. xix. 10. 3. To find a final outlet; to discharge its waters; to empty; -- with into; as, the river Rhone falls into the Mediterranean. 4. To become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die by violence, as in battle. A thousand shall fall at thy side. --Ps. xci. 7. He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell. --Byron. 5. To cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose strength; to subside; to become less intense; as, the wind falls. 6. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of the young of certain animals. --Shak. 7. To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value, price etc.; to become less; as, the falls; stocks fell two points. I am a poor falle man, unworthy now To be thy lord and master. --Shak. The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished. --Sir J. Davies. 8. To be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed. Heaven and earth will witness, If Rome must fall, that we are innocent. --Addison. 9. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin; to depart from the faith; to apostatize; to sin. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. --Heb. iv. 11. 10. To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be worse off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall into difficulties. 11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; -- said of the countenance. Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. --Gen. iv. 5. I have observed of late thy looks are fallen. --Addison. 12. To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our spirits rise and fall with our fortunes. 13. To pass somewhat suddenly, and passively, into a new state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall into a passion; to fall in love; to fall into temptation. 14. To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to issue; to terminate. The Romans fell on this model by chance. --Swift. Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. --Ruth. iii. 18. They do not make laws, they fall into customs. --H. Spencer. 15. To come; to occur; to arrive. The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene Council fell on the 21st of March, falls now [1694] about ten days sooner. --Holder. 16. To begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or hurry; as, they fell to blows. They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart and soul. --Jowett (Thucyd. ). 17. To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution, inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estate fell to his brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals. 18. To belong or appertain. If to her share some female errors fall, Look on her face, and you'll forget them all. --Pope. 19. To be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded expression fell from his lips; not a murmur fell from him. To fall abroad of (Naut.), to strike against; -- applied to one vessel coming into collision with another. To fall among, to come among accidentally or unexpectedly. To fall astern (Naut.), to move or be driven backward; to be left behind; as, a ship falls astern by the force of a current, or when outsailed by another. To fall away. (a) To lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine. (b) To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel. (c) To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize. "These . . . for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." --Luke viii. 13. (d) To perish; to vanish; to be lost. "How . . . can the soul . . . fall away into nothing?" --Addison. (e) To decline gradually; to fade; to languish, or become faint. "One color falls away by just degrees, and another rises insensibly." --Addison. To fall back. (a) To recede or retreat; to give way. (b) To fail of performing a promise or purpose; not to fulfill. To fall back upon. (a) (Mil.) To retreat for safety to (a stronger position in the rear, as to a fort or a supporting body of troops). (b) To have recourse to (a reserved fund, or some available expedient or support). To fall calm, to cease to blow; to become calm. To fall down. (a) To prostrate one's self in worship. "All kings shall fall down before him." --Ps. lxxii. 11. (b) To sink; to come to the ground. "Down fell the beauteous youth." --Dryden. (c) To bend or bow, as a suppliant. (d) (Naut.) To sail or drift toward the mouth of a river or other outlet. To fall flat, to produce no response or result; to fail of the intended effect; as, his speech fell flat. To fall foul of. (a) (Naut.) To have a collision with; to become entangled with (b) To attack; to make an assault upon. To fall from, to recede or depart from; not to adhere to; as, to fall from an agreement or engagement; to fall from allegiance or duty. To fall from grace (M. E. Ch.), to sin; to withdraw from the faith. To fall home (Ship Carp.), to curve inward; -- said of the timbers or upper parts of a ship's side which are much within a perpendicular. To fall in. (a) To sink inwards; as, the roof fell in. (b) (Mil.) To take one's proper or assigned place in line; as, to fall in on the right. (c) To come to an end; to terminate; to lapse; as, on the death of Mr. B., the annuuity, which he had so long received, fell in. (d) To become operative. "The reversion, to which he had been nominated twenty years before, fell in." --Macaulay. To fall into one's hands, to pass, often suddenly or unexpectedly, into one's ownership or control; as, to spike cannon when they are likely to fall into the hands of the enemy. To fall in with. (a) To meet with accidentally; as, to fall in with a friend. (b) (Naut.) To meet, as a ship; also, to discover or come near, as land. (c) To concur with; to agree with; as, the measure falls in with popular opinion. (d) To comply; to yield to. "You will find it difficult to persuade learned men to fall in with your projects." --Addison. To fall off. (a) To drop; as, fruits fall off when ripe. (b) To withdraw; to separate; to become detached; as, friends fall off in adversity. "Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide." --Shak. (c) To perish; to die away; as, words fall off by disuse. (d) To apostatize; to forsake; to withdraw from the faith, or from allegiance or duty. Those captive tribes . . . fell off From God to worship calves. --Milton. (e) To forsake; to abandon; as, his customers fell off. (f) To depreciate; to change for the worse; to deteriorate; to become less valuable, abundant, or interesting; as, a falling off in the wheat crop; the magazine or the review falls off. "O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!" --Shak. (g) (Naut.) To deviate or trend to the leeward of the point to which the head of the ship was before directed; to fall to leeward. To fall on. (a) To meet with; to light upon; as, we have fallen on evil days. (b) To begin suddenly and eagerly. "Fall on, and try the appetite to eat." --Dryden. (c) To begin an attack; to assault; to assail. "Fall on, fall on, and hear him not." --Dryden. (d) To drop on; to descend on. To fall out. (a) To quarrel; to begin to contend. A soul exasperated in ills falls out With everything, its friend, itself. --Addison. (b) To happen; to befall; to chance. "There fell out a bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice." --L'Estrange. (c) (Mil.) To leave the ranks, as a soldier. To fall over. (a) To revolt; to desert from one side to another. (b) To fall beyond. --Shak. To fall short, to be deficient; as, the corn falls short; they all fall short in duty. To fall through, to come to nothing; to fail; as, the engageent has fallen through. To fall to, to begin. "Fall to, with eager joy, on homely food." --Dryden. To fall under. (a) To come under, or within the limits of; to be subjected to; as, they fell under the jurisdiction of the emperor. (b) To come under; to become the subject of; as, this point did not fall under the cognizance or deliberations of the court; these things do not fall under human sight or observation. (c) To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with; to be subordinate to in the way of classification; as, these substances fall under a different class or order. To fall upon. (a) To attack. [See To fall on.] (b) To attempt; to have recourse to. "I do not intend to fall upon nice disquisitions." --Holder. (c) To rush against. Note: Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of its applications, implies, literally or figuratively, velocity, haste, suddenness, or violence. Its use is so various, and so mush diversified by modifying words, that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its applications.
Fal"la*cy\, n.; pl. Fallacies. [OE. fallace, fallas, deception, F. fallace, fr. L. fallacia, fr. fallax deceitful, deceptive, fr. fallere to deceive. See Fail.]1. Deceptive or false appearance; deceitfulness; that which misleads the eye or the mind; deception. Winning by conquest what the first man lost, By fallacy surprised. --Milton. 2. (Logic) An argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of the matter at issue, while in reality it is not; a sophism. Syn: Deception; deceit; mistake. Usage: Fallacy, Sophistry. A fallacy is an argument which professes to be decisive, but in reality is not; sophistry is also false reasoning, but of so specious and subtle a kind as to render it difficult to expose its fallacy. Many fallacies are obvious, but the evil of sophistry lies in its consummate art. "Men are apt to suffer their minds to be misled by fallacies which gratify their passions. Many persons have obscured and confounded the nature of things by their wretched sophistry; though an act be never so sinful, they will strip it of its guilt." --South.
Fal"li*ble\, a. [LL. fallibilis, fr. L. fallere to deceive: cf. F. faillible. See Fail.] Liable to fail, mistake, or err; liable to deceive or to be deceived; as, all men are fallible; our opinions and hopes are fallible.
False\, a. [Compar. Falser; superl. Falsest.] [L. falsus, p. p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus, fals, F. faux, and AS. fals fraud. See Fail, Fall.]1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness. 2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises. I to myself was false, ere thou to me. --Milton. 3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement. 4. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry. False face must hide what the false heart doth know. --Shak. 5. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar. Whose false foundation waves have swept away. --Spenser. 6. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental. 7. (Mus.) Not in tune. False arch (Arch.), a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. False attic, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. False bearing, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing. False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence. False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. False croup (Med.), a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. Falsedoor or window (Arch.), the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. False fire, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. False galena. See Blende. False imprisonment (Law), the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. False keel (Naut.), the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. False key, a picklock. False leg. (Zo["o]l.) See Proleg. False membrane (Med.), the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. False papers (Naut.), documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, ect., for the purpose of deceiving. False passage (Surg.), an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. False personation (Law), the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. False pretenses (Law), false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. False relation (Mus.), a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. False return (Law), an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. False ribs (Anat.), the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. False roof (Arch.), the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. --Oxford Gloss. False token, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. False scorpion (Zo["o]l.), any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See Book scorpion. False tack (Naut.), a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. False vampire (Zo["o]l.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire. False window. (Arch.) See False door, above. False wing. (Zo["o]l.) See Alula, and Bastard wing, under Bastard. False works (Civil Engin.), construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.
Fault\, n. [OE. faut, faute, F. faute (cf. It., Sp., & Pg. falta), fr. a verb meaning to want, fail, freq., fr. L. fallere to deceive. See Fail, and cf. Default.]1. Defect; want; lack; default. One, it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend. --Shak. 2. Anything that fails, that is wanting, or that impairs excellence; a failing; a defect; a blemish. As patches set upon a little breach Discredit more in hiding of the fault. --Shak. 3. A moral failing; a defect or dereliction from duty; a deviation from propriety; an offense less serious than a crime. 4. (Geol. & Mining) (a) A dislocation of the strata of the vein. (b) In coal seams, coal rendered worthless by impurities in the seam; as, slate fault, dirt fault, etc. --Raymond. 5. (Hunting) A lost scent; act of losing the scent. Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled, With much ado, the cold fault cleary out. --Shak. 6. (Tennis) Failure to serve the ball into the proper court. At fault, unable to find the scent and continue chase; hence, in trouble or embarrassment, and unable to proceed; puzzled; thrown off the track. To find fault, to find reason for blaming or complaining; to express dissatisfaction; to complain; -- followed by with before the thing complained of; but formerly by at. "Matter to find fault at." --Robynson (More's Utopia). Syn: -- Error; blemish; defect; imperfection; weakness; blunder; failing; vice. Usage: Fault, Failing, Defect, Foible. A fault is positive, something morally wrong; a failing is negative, some weakness or falling short in a man's character, disposition, or habits; a defect is also negative, and as applied to character is the absence of anything which is necessary to its completeness or perfection; a foible is a less important weakness, which we overlook or smile at. A man may have many failings, and yet commit but few faults; or his faults and failings may be few, while his foibles are obvious to all. The faults of a friend are often palliated or explained away into mere defects, and the defects or foibles of an enemy exaggerated into faults. "I have failings in common with every human being, besides my own peculiar faults; but of avarice I have generally held myself guiltless." --Fox. "Presumption and self-applause are the foibles of mankind." --Waterland.
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