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
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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)
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failed,
past participle, past
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failing
present participle
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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.
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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
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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:
Did it fail to adequately check Arday's credentials when appointing him, and did it defend that decision because of an institutional push to position itself as more diverse?
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Shares dip after Sandisk and Western Digital fail to deliver the sort of knockout guidance investors are used to.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
I’ve seen plenty fail because the household never calculated its own number.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
It said it tightened its seller vetting process, introduced a policy to reimburse buyers who win high-value items that sellers fail to deliver and mandated that all repack boxes be manufacturer-sealed and verified before sale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Yet there are times when even the pluckiest among us fail to follow this sage advice.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
In other words, the mall site that launched the entire movement could see the tech park go ahead if the county executive fails to follow her own rhetoric, even if the two-year moratorium otherwise lasts.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
The robust reading of the ISM poll, however, fails to tell the whole story.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
"If Bangladesh fails to strike free-trade agreements after the end of the preferential trade regime, the country may risk losing competitiveness," said Dhaka University professor Selim Raihan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The company fails to clearly inform users when their prescriptions will be refilled each month, making it tough to cancel before the next billing cycle, and hides an online cancellation button, according to the FTC.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Zohra and I took a ton of silly shots, and I’m surprised he didn’t delete our worst selfie fails.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez sued Meta -- which makes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp -- in 2023, alleging the company failed to protect children from online dangers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Every river and lake failed the test for chemical pollution.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Replimune, based outside Boston, will market the new drug alongside Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo for patients whose melanoma has progressed after immunotherapy alone has failed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The great slope of Mulholland’s concrete gravity dam in the Hollywood Hills — a model for the one that failed — was covered with dirt to disguise its terrifying height.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Hello?” he called, walking to the front desk, where the ditzy receptionist answered phones, checked in families, and located, or failed to locate, packages.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
But so far they’re failing to offer a coherent answer to voters’ concerns about affordability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Suraci stressed that large carnivores, like any species, have inherent value beyond the services they provide to human beings -- but said that failing to make the economic case would be a disservice to them.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The lawsuit accuses Blanche and the DOJ of perpetuating “that disgrace” of failing to investigate or hold Epstein accountable before his death.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Among the allegations, the district accused Carvalho of repeatedly failing to list gifts and outside income on required disclosure forms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
And so, when he was finished, I took a breath into my failing lungs and, with the last of my strength, finished my story.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
