failure

American  

[feyl-yer] / ˈfeɪl yər /

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.

3. a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency.

   the failure of crops.

4. deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc..

   The failure of her health made retirement necessary.

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

6. a becoming insolvent or bankrupt.

   the failure of a bank.

7. a person or thing that proves unsuccessful.

   He is a failure in his career.

   The cake is a failure.

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failure British  

/ 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

3. nonperformance of something required or expected

   failure to attend will be punished

4. cessation of normal operation; breakdown

   a power failure

5. an insufficiency or shortage

   a crop failure

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

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

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

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Other Word Forms

• nonfailure
  noun

Etymology

Origin of failure

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

Explanation

If you experience failure, things have not gone the way you'd hoped. I'm sorry to hear that your attempt to turn hay into gold has been a failure. Failure can also mean when something suddenly stops working or when you don't do something that you're expected to. A power failure might create an opportunity for a romantic candlelight dinner. Your failure to pay the electric bill may lead to a lot of romantic candlelight dinners, as long as you at least paid the gas bill. Someone who has no success in life a failure, as is an effort that doesn't work like your failure of a presidential campaign.

Example Sentences

Failure to do so would "open the door for crippling liability and undermine the interest of farmers who depend on federally registered pesticides for their livelihood," he said.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

Failure to cast a vote will be the same as a no-vote, according to the company’s proxy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

"Failure after failure, then we found something we weren't expecting in the mess -- a real diamond in the rough. And it is all thanks to a failed control experiment," Vahey said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

Failure to pass the Rotor Act means another day, week or month that we put at risk the safety of all passengers who fly our skies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

It shocks me to write it, to see it here in the margin of my ATA Pilot’s Notes alongside “De Havilland Mosquito—Engine Failure After Take-Off.”

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• breakdown
• collapse
• decline
• defeat
• deficiency
• deterioration
• failing
• loss
• misstep