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malfunction

[mal-fuhngk-shuhn]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

failure to function properly: a malfunction of the liver; the malfunction of a rocket.

verb (used without object)

to fail to function properly.

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Malfunction is one of our favorite verbs.

So is yaff. Does it mean:

to flee; abscond:

to bark; yelp.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
1925–30; mal- + function

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To malfunction

Example Sentences

Now its worrying enough for me to think about my suffering should this computer malfunction.

And if an element happens to copy itself into the wrong place it can cause an existing gene to malfunction.

But you might not get this result in your earthly life span, and this is no indication of malfunction in the system.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

malfunction (mælˈfʌŋkʃən)

—vb
1.	(intr) to function imperfectly or irregularly or fail to function

—n
2.	failure to function or defective functioning

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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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

malfunction

1928, from mal- "bad, badly, wrong" (see mal-) + function (q.v.). Related: Malfunctioning.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

malfunction mal·func·tion (māl-fŭngk'shən)
v. mal·func·tioned, mal·func·tion·ing, mal·func·tions