failed; failing; fails
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
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
Douglas MacArthur3
: 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.
plural fails
Synonyms
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 WebKate Bartlett, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024
The effort to impeach Mayorkas in the House failed twice before ultimately passing in February.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Times editorial board: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors’ silent sign-off on a $25-million payout fails the accountability test.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
In others, the scammers abandon the project after selling off their own token holdings, or fail to deliver on the promise of long-term support.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
Nearly two dozen rounds of negotiations have failed to bring disengagement.
—Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Dirty equipment, equipment not sanitized even after being cleaned and poor handwashing were among the violations seen as West Miami-Dade and Hialeah retail bakeries failed inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
But they were cut to 10 hours as the day progressed and the anticipated crowds failed to appear.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Apr. 2024
The special counsel accused Hunter Biden of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.
—Tom Hals, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
In 2023, deals in the sector had a 46 percent close rate, a seven-point dip from the previous year, and a 30 percent fail rate, a seven-point uptick from 2022, according to an M&A review by financial software firm Datasite.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Trisha Yearwood may be a talented chef, but her wedding cake was a near fail.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
What could be more disheartening than a spectacular fail in front of the whole school, with a literal spotlight on you?
—Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
That was a fail for the 15th consecutive season;
— Second goal: Get the home-field playoff advantage.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024
But breaking with tradition, the Association of Social Worker Boards in 2022 released its pass/fail rates by demographic groups and revealed stark inequities.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Pass/fail rates are proprietary information, most of which is not shared publicly.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Summaries of all the applicants, which included pass/fail notes, were published on the AMCC website when the licenses were awarded Monday.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 13 Sep. 2023
Verb
But expectations are muted given that previous truce negotiations in Jeddah last year failed to amount to much.
—Kate Bartlett, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024
The effort to impeach Mayorkas in the House failed twice before ultimately passing in February.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Times editorial board: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors’ silent sign-off on a $25-million payout fails the accountability test.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
In others, the scammers abandon the project after selling off their own token holdings, or fail to deliver on the promise of long-term support.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
Nearly two dozen rounds of negotiations have failed to bring disengagement.
—Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Dirty equipment, equipment not sanitized even after being cleaned and poor handwashing were among the violations seen as West Miami-Dade and Hialeah retail bakeries failed inspection.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
But they were cut to 10 hours as the day progressed and the anticipated crowds failed to appear.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Apr. 2024
The special counsel accused Hunter Biden of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.
—Tom Hals, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Noun
And it might be said that De Sarno’s first showing was a fail, particularly in Asia-Pacific.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
In 2023, deals in the sector had a 46 percent close rate, a seven-point dip from the previous year, and a 30 percent fail rate, a seven-point uptick from 2022, according to an M&A review by financial software firm Datasite.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Trisha Yearwood may be a talented chef, but her wedding cake was a near fail.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
What could be more disheartening than a spectacular fail in front of the whole school, with a literal spotlight on you?
—Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
That was a fail for the 15th consecutive season;
— Second goal: Get the home-field playoff advantage.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024
But breaking with tradition, the Association of Social Worker Boards in 2022 released its pass/fail rates by demographic groups and revealed stark inequities.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Pass/fail rates are proprietary information, most of which is not shared publicly.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Summaries of all the applicants, which included pass/fail notes, were published on the AMCC website when the licenses were awarded Monday.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 13 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fail.' 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
Cite this Entry
“Fail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fail. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fail
1 of 2 verb1
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 verb1
: to weaken or lose strength
her health was failing
2
: to stop functioning normally
the patient's heart failed
Legal Definition
fail
intransitive verb1
: 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
Uniform Commercial Code2
: to become bankrupt or insolvent
: to leave undone or neglect to do
fail to appear in court
fail to read a contract
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share