fail
Americanverb (used without object)
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fails,
present (3rd person singular)
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failed,
past participle, past
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failing
present participle
-
to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved.
The experiment failed because of poor planning.
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to receive less than the passing grade or mark in an examination, class, or course of study.
He failed in history.
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to be or become deficient or lacking; be insufficient or absent; fall short.
Our supplies failed.
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to dwindle, pass, or die away.
The flowers failed for lack of rain.
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to lose strength or vigor; become weak.
His health failed after the operation.
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to become unable to meet or pay debts or business obligations; become insolvent or bankrupt.
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(of a building member, structure, machine part, etc.) to break, bend, crush, or be otherwise destroyed or made useless because of an excessive load.
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to stop functioning or operating.
The electricity failed during the storm.
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Slang.
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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!
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to be embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc..
She fails at life. I just failed at walking and fell on my face.
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to be bad or of inferior quality.
The play is terrible—even the music fails.
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verb (used with object)
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fails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
failed,
past participle, past
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failing
present participle
-
to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of.
He failed to do his duty.
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(of some expected or usual resource) to prove of no use or help to.
His friends failed him. Words failed her.
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to receive less than a passing grade or mark in.
He failed history.
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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
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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.
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the condition or quality resulting from having failed in this way.
His online post is full of fail.
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a person who fails in this way.
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Stock Exchange.
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a stockbroker's inability to deliver or receive security within the required time after sale or purchase.
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such an undelivered security.
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Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc.
interjection
adjective
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unsuccessful; failed.
a totally fail policy.
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Slang.
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of or noting an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc..
the top 100 funniest fail photos on the internet.
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embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc.
Why am I so fail?
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very bad or of inferior quality.
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idioms
verb
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to be unsuccessful in an attempt (at something or to do something)
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(intr) to stop operating or working properly
the steering failed suddenly
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to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required for success in (a course, examination, etc)
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(tr) to prove disappointing, undependable, or useless to (someone)
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(tr) to neglect or be unable (to do something)
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(intr) to prove partly or completely insufficient in quantity, duration, or extent
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(intr) to weaken; fade away
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(intr) to go bankrupt or become insolvent
noun
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a failure to attain the required standard, as in an examination
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definitely; with certainty
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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failsimple
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failssimple
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have failedperfect
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has failedperfect
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am failingprogressive
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are failingprogressive
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is failingprogressive
-
have been failingperfect progressive
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has been failingperfect progressive
Past
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failedsimple
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had failedperfect
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was failingprogressive
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were failingprogressive
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had been failingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fail
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English failen, from Anglo-French, Old French faillir, from unattested Vulgar Latin fallīre, for Latin fallere “to disappoint, deceive”
Explanation
The verb fail describes something that stops working, like brakes in a car that fail, or is found to be unacceptable, like restaurants that fail their inspection for cleanliness. The verb fail comes from the Old French word faillir, meaning “be lacking,” “miss,” or “not succeed.” You can fail an exam, which means you didn't get at least a minimum number of points to pass. You can fail to live up to your potential, meaning you aren't able to meet expectations. When businesses fail, it means financial problems force them to close.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If the neoclouds fail to lift off, that doubles back on Nvidia with reduced sales and even more reduced margins,” Goldberg said, referring to a key measure of profitability.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
But a deal built for fair weather will fail in the first storm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
An electrode might be positioned in the correct general region but still fail to activate all the connections associated with lasting improvement.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Dahlia Lithwick: So much of the work you’ve done has been rooted in this idea that our legal structures, in some ways by design, have always failed and continue to fail women and vulnerable communities.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
It was Burr’s unique distinction, at least as Hamilton saw it, to fail every such test.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Since 2022, the NFL has held more than two dozen international contests, but even that broad sample fails to provide a definitive answer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
"Strong results are no longer enough if the outlook fails to match an already demanding valuation. Investors are becoming much less forgiving."
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
If that also fails, Knesset members can ask the president to allow a third leader to try.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
A coyote that fails to exhibit fear toward humans or behaves aggressively should be reported to wildlife officials, authorities say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
My attempt to think of Viola instead of the warning posters fails.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Machado, who remains in Panama after repeated failed attempts to return to Venezuela, has expressed support for the talks but accuses Washington of excluding her from them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
On Saturday, City captain Ruben Dias gesticulated to his team-mate to send the ball up the pitch after the Portuguese failed to control a difficult pass.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The Guardian says "online safety laws have failed to protect children", quoting the UK's online safety regulator.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Wonder seeks to evict Efferson after she allegedly refused to allow inspectors into the property earlier in the summer and failed to vacate the home in August, despite receiving a 30-day notice in late July.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
The last time they’d shouted at each other, it was over Molly’s failed attempts to catch and kill the Son of Sam, and that had been in the ’70s.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Advocates for AI consciousness may believe that failing to extend moral consideration to AI systems would be akin to mass enslavement.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
According to the watchdog, ONL created a test account in 2012 and used the password "Password1" to protect it, failing to audit it or remove it for more than 12 years.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Tenzing” director Jennifer Peedom has never been interested in the Westerners trying, and sometimes failing, to conquer Everest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order, and had announced partial curfews in Paris and some other cities on Monday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
“I feel like I’m failing you, Babygirl. I work twelve-hour shifts, five days a week. You should have somebody around who you can talk to.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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