1
: incorporating some feature for automatically counteracting the effect of an anticipated possible source of failure
2
: being or relating to a safeguard that prevents continuing on a bombing mission according to a preconceived plan
3
: having no chance of failure : infallibly problem-free
the little black dress … has consistently been the fail-safe solution for night—
Vogue
Vogue
: a device or measure that makes something fail-safe
Synonyms
Examples of fail-safe in a Sentence
Adjective
flowers have been traditionally regarded as the fail-safe gift for Valentine's Day
Noun
there are so many fail-safes built into the system that a highly unlikely series of mistakes would have to be made before failure could occur
Recent Examples on the WebMathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 25 June 2024
Moran said that the fail-safe parts of the lahar detection system are located about 45 minutes from the nearest large community, making that the time frame with which communities had to work.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 23 June 2024
Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for fail-safe 
Adjective
Californians renewing their driver’s license can now complete the Department of Motor Vehicles’ fail-safe eLearning course in English or Spanish.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 25 June 2024
Moran said that the fail-safe parts of the lahar detection system are located about 45 minutes from the nearest large community, making that the time frame with which communities had to work.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 23 June 2024
Noun
The idea was to make bank oversight both stricter and more fail-safe.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for fail-safe
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fail-safe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fail-safe
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fail-safe. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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