critical failure

American  

[krit-i-kuhl feyl-yer] / ˈkrɪt ɪ kəl ˈfeɪl yər /

noun

1. a movie, song, or the like that is received very unfavorably by professional critics.

   The director’s new film is a modest rebound from the commercial and critical failure of the previous one.

2. a malfunction of a piece of equipment, program, etc., that halts or severely impairs its operation.

   We need an overhaul of security protocols to avoid another critical failure of the system.

   Engineers analyzed the root causes of these critical failures of the machinery so as to address them with improved design.

3. null critical miss, critical fail (in role-playing games) a move that harms the player who made it or does not inflict the intended damage on an opponent, usually due to a particularly low roll of the die or dice.

   Rolling a one is a critical failure.

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Etymology

Origin of critical failure

First recorded in 1950–55 critical failure for def. 1; 1965–70 critical failure for def. 2; 2000–05 critical failure for def. 3

Example Sentences

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been grounded in Switzerland after his plane had a "critical failure" due to an oxygen leak, officials said.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2024

“This is a priority. We cannot have another critical failure like we did a couple weeks ago.”

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2023

But when that platform game was released in 2021, it was regarded as a critical failure.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2022

I want to provide a solution to the impending critical failure in public data.

From Salon • Sep. 27, 2020

The Pathfinder mission ended because the lander had an unknown critical failure.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir