failure

[ feyl-yer ]
See synonyms for: failurefailures on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure.The campaign was a failure.

  2. nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: a failure to do what one has promised;a failure to appear.

  1. a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency: the failure of crops.

  2. deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc.: The failure of her health made retirement necessary.

  3. a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.

  4. a becoming insolvent or bankrupt: the failure of a bank.

  5. a person or thing that proves unsuccessful: He is a failure in his career.The cake is a failure.

Origin of failure

1
First recorded in 1635–45; fail + -ure; replacing failer “a fault, default,” from Anglo-French (noun use of infinitive), for Old French faillir

Other words from failure

  • non·fail·ure, noun

Words Nearby failure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use failure in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for failure

failure

/ (ˈfeɪljə) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of failing

  2. a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing: the evening was a failure

  1. nonperformance of something required or expected: failure to attend will be punished

  2. cessation of normal operation; breakdown: a power failure

  3. an insufficiency or shortage: a crop failure

  4. a decline or loss, as in health or strength

  5. the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc

  6. the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012