fail

1 of 2

verb

ˈfāl 

failed; failing; fails

intransitive verb

1

a

: to lose strength : weaken

her health was failing

b

: to fade or die away

until our family line fails

c

: to stop functioning normally

the patient's heart failed

2

a

: to fall short

failed in his duty

b

: to be or become absent or inadequate

the water supply failed

c

: to be unsuccessful

the marriage failed

specifically : to be unsuccessful in achieving a passing grade

took the exam and failed

d

: to become bankrupt or insolvent

banks were failing

transitive verb

1

a

: to disappoint the expectations or trust of

her friends failed her

b

: to miss performing an expected service or function for

his wit failed him

2

: to be deficient in : lack

never failed an invincible courage

—Douglas MacArthur

3

: to leave undone : neglect

fail to lock the door

4

a

: to be unsuccessful in passing

failed chemistry

b

: to grade (someone, such as a student) as not passing

The teacher failed only his two worst students.

failingly

ˈfā-liŋ-lē 

adverb

fail

2 of 2

noun

plural fails

1

: failure

—usually used in the phrase without fail

Every day, without fail, he has toast and coffee for breakfast.

see also epic fail

2

: a failure (as by a security dealer) to deliver or receive securities within a prescribed period after purchase or sale

Synonyms

Verb

• break
• break down
• conk (out)
• crash
• cut out
• die
• give out
• stall

Examples of fail in a Sentence

Verb

He failed in his first attempt but succeeded in his second attempt.

His first company failed, but his second company succeeded.

He felt that he had failed her when she needed him most.

The government has failed the voters.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

An initial test flight also failed in April, exploding four minutes after liftoff and flinging debris throughout the surrounding area. —WIRED, 18 Nov. 2023

SpaceX congratulated its team on a successful lift-off and booster separation, which comes months after the booster failed to separate during the first flight test. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 18 Nov. 2023

In October, a group of New York Republicans called for an expulsion vote which failed to succeed on Nov. 1. —Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023

In line with last year’s somewhat intimate party, GQ’s Will Welch never fails to create an impeccable vibe that is magnified by each guest. —Jamila Stewart, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023

This case is not the same as the great-power distraction, in which the world’s most powerful states simply fail to focus on emerging crises. —Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023

Yet reporting found that all the seats that failed in these types of rear-end collisions met or exceeded the half-century-old federal strength standard. —Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2023

Some even say the market has failed and price regulation is needed. —Harris Meyer, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2023

People’s diets are one place where most high-income countries are failing drastically. —WIRED, 6 Nov. 2023

Noun

Summaries of all the applicants, which included pass/fail notes, were published on the AMCC website when the licenses were awarded Monday. —Howard Koplowitz | [e-mail], al, 13 Sep. 2023

Here’s what the report found The report found that 0.01% of leaves are passing the critical temperature threshold, meaning their ability to photosynthesize fails. —Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2023

There was very much a fail hard, fail fast mentality, which has never been my vibe. —Claire Stern, ELLE, 15 Aug. 2023

As dreams of building a home fail, a sense of hope can curdle into a feeling of homelessness. —Meghan Racklin, The New Republic, 10 Aug. 2023

There’s no getting around the fact that game and the entire series constituted an epic fail for Brown. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2023

Will people be lulled into letting the AI do the data analyses for them and ergo fail to double-check or use humankind's common sense to ascertain whether the results are viable and practical? —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 July 2023

Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. —Jonathan Landrum Jr., Chron, 25 Dec. 2020

Yet their biggest fail was a problem Vollmer’s reforms didn’t address — or perhaps even recognize as a problem. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English failen, from Anglo-French faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallire, alteration of Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fail

• fail-safe
• epic fail
• pass-fail
• fail to see/understand
• without fail
• words fail someone

• fail-safe
• epic fail
• pass-fail
• fail to see/understand
• without fail
• words fail someone

Kids Definition

fail

1 of 2 verb

ˈfā(ə)l 

1

a

: to lose strength : weaken

failing eyesight

b

: to stop functioning

the engine failed

2

a

: to fall short

failed in their duty

b

: to become absent or lacking

the power failed

c

: to be unsuccessful (as in passing an examination)

d

: to grade as not passing

fail a student

e

: to become bankrupt

3

: disappoint, desert

fail a friend in need

4

: to leave undone : neglect

fail to answer the telephone

fail

2 of 2 noun

: failure sense 1

—usually used in the phrase without fail

Medical Definition

fail

intransitive verb

ˈfā(ə)l 

1

: to weaken or lose strength

her health was failing

2

: to stop functioning normally

the patient's heart failed

Legal Definition

fail

intransitive verb

1

: to be or become inadequate or unsuccessful especially in fulfilling certain formal requirements

even if one or more terms are left open, a contract for sale does not 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