| 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. | 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. |
| 13. | Stock Exchange.
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| 14. | Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc. |
| 15. | without fail, with certainty; positively: I will visit you tomorrow without fail. |

fail
without fail
For certain, as in That check will arrive tomorrow morning without fail. This idiom today is used mainly to strengthen a statement. [Early 1700s]