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.
9.
Slang.
a.
to make an embarrassing or humorous mistake, be in a humiliating situation, etc., and be subject to ridicule: Showed up late to the wedding? You fail!
b.
to be embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc.: She fails at life. I just failed at walking and fell on my face.
c.
to be bad or of inferior quality: The play is terrible—even the music fails.
verb (used with object)
10.
to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of: He failed to do his duty.
11.
(of some expected or usual resource) to prove of no use or help to: His friends failed him. Words failed her.
12.
to receive less than a passing grade or mark in: He failed history.
13.
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.
00:10
Fail
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
noun
14.
Slang.
a.
an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., that is subject to ridicule and given an exaggerated importance: Their app update is a massive fail.
b.
the condition or quality resulting from having failed in this way: His online post is full of fail.
c.
a person who fails in this way.
15.
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.
16.
Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc.
interjection
17.
Slang.
a.
(used to mock an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., giving it an exaggerated importance): A tattoo that misspells your name? Fail!
b.
(used to indicate that something is bad or of inferior quality)
adjective
Idioms 18.
unsuccessful; failed: a totally fail policy.
19.
a.
of or noting an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc.: the top 100 funniest fail photos on the Internet.
b.
embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc: Why am I so fail?
c.
very bad or of inferior quality.
20.
without fail, with certainty; positively: I will visit you tomorrow without fail.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English failen < Anglo-French, Old French faillir < Vulgar Latin *fallīre, for Latin fallere to disappoint, deceive
1175–1225; Middle English failen < Anglo-French, Old French faillir < Vulgar Latin *fallīre, for Latin fallere to disappoint, deceive
Related forms
un·failed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To fail
Collins
World English Dictionary
fail1 (feɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to be unsuccessful in an attempt (at something or to do something) |
| 2. | (intr) to stop operating or working properly: the steering failed suddenly |
| 3. | to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required for success in (a course, examination, etc) |
| 4. | (tr) to prove disappointing, undependable, or useless to (someone) |
| 5. | (tr) to neglect or be unable (to do something) |
| 6. | (intr) to prove partly or completely insufficient in quantity, duration, or extent |
| 7. | (intr) to weaken; fade away |
| 8. | (intr) to go bankrupt or become insolvent |
| —n | |
| 9. | a failure to attain the required standard, as in an examination |
| 10. | without fail definitely; with certainty |
| [C13: from Old French faillir, ultimately from Latin fallere to disappoint; probably related to Greek phēlos deceitful] | |
| fail2 (fel) | |
| —n | |
| (Scot) a turf; sod | |
| [perhaps from Scottish Gaelic fàl] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fail
early 13c., from O.Fr. faillir "be lacking, miss, not succeed," from V.L. *fallire, from L. fallere "deceive, be lacking or defective." Related: Failed; failing. Replaced O.E. abreoðan. The Anglo-Norm. form, failer, came to be used as a noun, hence failure.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The owners and the players will lose a lot of money if they fail to come to an agreement soon.
Money borrowed without security is a debt of honor which must be paid without fail and promptly as possible.
Few corporate histories better illustrate the fact that companies can make groundbreaking products but fail to make money.
Mountaintop sites also create slurry ponds-artificial lakes that hold the byproducts of coal processing and that sometimes fail.
Idioms & Phrases
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