fail
verb
\ ËfÄl
\
\
failed;
failing;
fails
Definition of fail
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: 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
2a
: 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
1a
: 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
4a
: 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.
fail
nounDefinition of fail (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from fail
Verb
failingly
\ ËfÄ-liĆ-lÄ
\
adverb
\
adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for fail
Synonyms: Verb
break, break down, conk (out), crash, cut out, die, give out, stall
Antonyms: Verb
Visit the Thesaurus for More
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
Some of the equipment failed and allowed the Crypto in (the exact source of the Crypto was never determined), and the operators werenât paying attention to the crude water quality indicators that were in place. — Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian, "Milwaukeeâs Secret Salmon Runs," 10 Sep. 2019 The special teams failed the Colts on Sunday Adam Vinateri was bad. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: Missed tackles, missed kicks cost Colts in 30-24 loss to Chargers," 8 Sep. 2019 Federal officials say the gunman in the attack obtained a rifle despite failing a federal background check in 2014. — Fox News, "Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick âwilling to take an arrowâ in bucking NRA on background checks," 8 Sep. 2019 Of course, children in the US suffer where the medical system fails them, especially in marginalized communities. — Caroline Yao, Quartz, "One of the biggest threats to children across the world begins in hospitals," 7 Sep. 2019 The current efforts are the townâs second attempt to upgrade the high school, after a previous plan failed at referendum in 2017. — Emily Brindley, courant.com, "Farmington committee selects two architecture firms for high school design plans," 6 Sep. 2019 Among those who think the city is failing on its climate plan, Gloria leads Bry 36 percent to 10 percent. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Poll shows Gloria with big lead over Bry in 2020 race for San Diego mayor," 6 Sep. 2019 In April, the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander also failed just before touchdown and was destroyed. — Wired, "Indiaâs Moon Landing May Be Doomed," 6 Sep. 2019 Disney had a duty to protect Jordan from Keith Thomas, and failed at every step. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, "'The Voice' Alum Jordan Pruitt Suing Former Manager, Hollywood Records, Disney Over Alleged Abuse," 4 Sep. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
What the Trump administration and the religious right fail to acknowledge is that Planned Parenthood, more than any other organization, is responsible for stopping unintended pregnancies. — Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, The Mercury News, "Editorial: Trumpâs abortion rule is devastating to womenâs health," 21 Aug. 2019 Sometimes, though, just like in the real world, plans big and small fail. — Stephen Ruiz, orlandosentinel.com, "Former UCF receiver Breshad Perriman looks to stick with Bucs after bouncing around NFL," 20 Aug. 2019 Security guards, firefighters, engineers and drivers at Heathrow plan to go on strike at one minute after midnight if negotiations on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019 fail. — Washington Post, "Londonâs Heathrow Airport says Tuesday strike suspended," 5 Aug. 2019 Since most start-ups fail, hundreds of Brexâs customers have gone out of business. — Erin Griffith, New York Times, "Bad Times in Tech? Not if Youâre a Start-Up Serving Other Start-Ups," 2 Aug. 2019 Data experts have tried to learn from that epic fail -- and one has proven especially successful, so far. — oregonlive.com, "Donald Trump will lose the 2020 election, concludes unique prediction model that nailed 2018 midterm results," 17 July 2019 If all other layers of safety fail, mouth-to-mouth CPR should be administered right away and 911 called. — Molly Hudson, azcentral, "Water-related fatalities down for 2019 in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima counties," 17 July 2019 That every day there is no fail, maybe 100 messages. — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, "Inside Every Interior Designer's Favorite Account on Instagram," 17 May 2019 More in CFO Journal Finance chiefs often lack the relevant skills within their teams, and those in the C-suite fail to collaborate effectively, according to the survey. — Ezequiel Minaya, WSJ, "Finance Chiefs Say Too Much Data Is Making It Harder to Keep on Top of Risks," 19 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more