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)
-
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.
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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
-
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:
What are we supposed to do when our bodies fail and we can no longer work, our Social Security checks aren’t enough and we have nowhere to turn?
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
The tunes and chord changes fail to lodge in memory even after repeated listens, hooks don’t land, and tempos are generally drowsy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
“The initiative is meant to be an outlet for voters when special interest groups lead legislators to fail to respond to their concerns,” Schickler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
A cleft lip and palate is a condition which is present from birth, external when the upper lip, roof of the mouth, or both, fail to fuse properly during pregnancy.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
“Fine. But I’ll be watching. And when you fail, my armies will attack.”
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
And even if that fails, it could still be a while before we know the actual victor.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
But if Carrick fails to stop the rot and loses his job, United are already considering the merits of appointing another British coach - albeit one who is more experienced.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
If the more collaborative approach falters and a water agency fails to meet commitments, regulators still have the option of putting it back under the traditional regulations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
For even the smallest transgressions between two individuals, it’s antagonistic and fails to provide a productive resolution.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
If it’s meant to chase him off, it fails.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Personalized phage therapy may be considered when established treatments have failed, are unavailable, or cannot be used safely.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Ronaldo continued to smash the goals in for Juventus, in his second spell at United and at Al-Nassr but failed to really replicate many truly magic moments of the past.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The British chip blueprint designer reported solid results but failed to ease fears about weak demand for smartphones.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
Eight years later, two high-profile projects to build fabrication plants in India also failed to get off the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
He remembered what Leigh the Bard had said would happen if he failed.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Education Minister Edouard Geffray told the France Inter radio station students should return to the classroom to avoid failing exams.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
They functionally shift blame onto the individual for failing to thrive in a society that makes thriving almost impossible.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
Litovka, whose colleagues worked on that outbreak, blamed local officials for failing to administer anthrax vaccinations according to schedule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Debotte's account of those moments was absolutely crucial to proving Richardson was guilty of more than causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
But his strength was failing, and he rose with agonizing slowness, hampered by his sodden clothes.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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