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fail

 - 8 dictionary results

fail

  [feyl]
Use fail in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved: The experiment failed because of poor planning.
2. to receive less than the passing grade or mark in an examination, class, or course of study: He failed in history.
3. to be or become deficient or lacking; be insufficient or absent; fall short: Our supplies failed.
4. to dwindle, pass, or die away: The flowers failed for lack of rain.
5. to lose strength or vigor; become weak: His health failed after the operation.
6. to become unable to meet or pay debts or business obligations; become insolvent or bankrupt.
7. (of a building member, structure, machine part, etc.) to break, bend, crush, or be otherwise destroyed or made useless because of an excessive load.
8. to stop functioning or operating: The electricity failed during the storm.
–verb (used with object)
9. to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of: He failed to do his duty.
10. (of some expected or usual resource) to prove of no use or help to: His friends failed him. Words failed her.
11. to receive less than a passing grade or mark in: He failed history.
12. to declare (a person) unsuccessful in a test, course of study, etc.; give less than a passing grade to: The professor failed him in history.
–noun
13. Stock Exchange.
a. a stockbroker's inability to deliver or receive security within the required time after sale or purchase.
b. such an undelivered security.
14. Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc.
—Idiom
15. without fail, with certainty; positively: I will visit you tomorrow without fail.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME failen < AF, OF faillir < VL *fallīre, for L fallere to disappoint, deceive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fail
fail   (fāl)   
v.   failed, fail·ing, fails

v.   intr.

  1. To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit.

  2. To be unsuccessful: an experiment that failed.

  3. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum.

  4. To prove insufficient in quantity or duration; give out: The water supply failed during the drought.

  5. To decline, as in strength or effectiveness: The light began to fail.

  6. To cease functioning properly: The engine failed.

  7. To give way or be made otherwise useless as a result of excessive strain: The rusted girders failed and caused the bridge to collapse.

  8. To become bankrupt or insolvent: Their business failed during the last recession.

v.   tr.

  1. To disappoint or prove undependable to: Our sentries failed us.

  2. To abandon; forsake: His strength failed him.

  3. 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).

  4. To leave undone; neglect: failed to wash the dishes.

    1. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum in (a course, for example): failed algebra twice.

    2. To give such a grade of failure to (a student): failed me in algebra.

n.  

  1. Failure to deliver securities to a purchaser within a specified time.

  2. 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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fail 
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

Fail

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.

Related Links

Understanding Order Execution
The Nitty-Gritty Of Executing A Trade
Futures Fundamentals
Options Basics Tutorial
Bond Basics Tutorial

See also: Aged Fail, Clearing House, Fixed-Income Security, Forward Contract, Futures Contract, Option, SEC, Settlement Date, Trade Date

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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Financial Dictionary

fail

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.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: fail
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to be or become inadequate or unsuccessful esp. in fulfilling certain formal requirements 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>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fail
Pronunciation: 'fA(&)l
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to weaken or lose strength failing>
2 : to stop functioning failed>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

fail

see without fail; words fail me.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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