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fail
[ feyl ]
verb (used without object)
- to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved:
The experiment failed because of poor planning.
- to receive less than the passing grade or mark in an examination, class, or course of study:
He failed in history.
- to be or become deficient or lacking; be insufficient or absent; fall short:
Our supplies failed.
- to dwindle, pass, or die away:
The flowers failed for lack of rain.
- to lose strength or vigor; become weak:
His health failed after the operation.
- to become unable to meet or pay debts or business obligations; become insolvent or bankrupt.
- (of a building member, structure, machine part, etc.) to break, bend, crush, or be otherwise destroyed or made useless because of an excessive load.
- to stop functioning or operating:
The electricity failed during the storm.
- Slang.
- to make an embarrassing or humorous mistake, be in a humiliating situation, etc., and be subject to ridicule:
Showed up late to the wedding? You fail!
- to be embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc.:
She fails at life. I just failed at walking and fell on my face.
- to be bad or of inferior quality:
The play is terrible—even the music fails.
verb (used with object)
- to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of:
He failed to do his duty.
- (of some expected or usual resource) to prove of no use or help to:
His friends failed him. Words failed her.
- to receive less than a passing grade or mark in:
He failed history.
- 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.
noun
- Slang.
- an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., that is subject to ridicule and given an exaggerated importance:
Their app update is a massive fail.
- the condition or quality resulting from having failed in this way:
His online post is full of fail.
- a person who fails in this way.
- Stock Exchange.
- a stockbroker's inability to deliver or receive security within the required time after sale or purchase.
- such an undelivered security.
- Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc.
interjection
- Slang.
- (used to mock an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., giving it an exaggerated importance):
A tattoo that misspells your name? Fail!
- (used to indicate that something is bad or of inferior quality)
adjective
- unsuccessful; failed:
a totally fail policy.
- Slang.
- of or noting an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc.:
the top 100 funniest fail photos on the internet.
- embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc:
Why am I so fail?
- very bad or of inferior quality.
fail
1/ ڱɪ /
verb
- to be unsuccessful in an attempt (at something or to do something)
- intr to stop operating or working properly
the steering failed suddenly
- to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required for success in (a course, examination, etc)
- tr to prove disappointing, undependable, or useless to (someone)
- tr to neglect or be unable (to do something)
- intr to prove partly or completely insufficient in quantity, duration, or extent
- intr to weaken; fade away
- intr to go bankrupt or become insolvent
noun
- a failure to attain the required standard, as in an examination
- without faildefinitely; with certainty
fail
2/ fel /
noun
- a turf; sod
Other Word Forms
- ܲ·ڲ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of fail1
Word History and Origins
Origin of fail1
Origin of fail2
Idioms and Phrases
- without fail, with certainty; positively:
I will visit you tomorrow without fail.
More idioms and phrases containing fail
see without fail ; words fail me .Example Sentences
Eubank will face his fellow Briton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in boxing's latest grudge match – two and a half years after their cancelled bout because of Benn's failed drugs tests.
Bosses who fail to co-operate or obstruct investigators looking into sewage spills can now be jailed for up to two years.
A police investigation into the murder of a Catholic taxi driver in Belfast "failed to effectively pursue relevant suspects", a report by Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson has concluded.
She said the school had failed to consult parents on this.
A huge search followed for the evangelist, during which a diver died when his equipment failed.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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