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:
What these sales fail to capture is what people spend on services such as travel, recreation and entertainment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
And he enforced antitrust laws because powerful economic actors sometimes fail to restrain themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Adding to the risks associated with the heatwave, a few tropical nights - where temperatures fail to drop below 20C - are also on the cards as increasingly humid air spreads into western areas.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The findings suggest that long dinosaur trackways can preserve behavioral details that shorter stretches of footprints may fail to reveal.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Fine. But I’ll be watching. And when you fail, my armies will attack.”
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
“This fails to provide any safeguards for Los Angeles taxpayers and most assuredly risks the city’s fiscal stability,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said after voting against the agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The intro gets blasted at sporting events to raise energy or when something good happens, and it never fails to rally a crowd.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Or, they could be hit by the same panic that overwhelmed Rupireddy if their share of the profits fails to materialize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
But a discussion of “countries like Jamaica and China” which fails to identify their commonality—being similar in some way to Cuba—is bound to be incoherent.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Sunrisers, who comfortably beat Southern Brave in Friday's Eliminator, slumped to 26-3 at the end of the powerplay and failed to recover.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
I like this recipe in particular because if the farmers market has otherwise failed you, there is a decent chance the pickle table has not.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
They got two more in the ninth after a second bases-loaded error by Edman came when he failed to field a choppy ground ball from David Hamilton, allowing Chourio and Lara to score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Dr. Aaron Rollins, a celebrity plastic surgeon who was building a home on the island, got frustrated after four years of failed efforts to receive membership to the club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Instead I can only serve as an example of what a Swanburne girl should not be. I have broken my promise, disappointed my headmistress, failed my alma mater in her time of need....”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
In his filings, he accused successor trustee Paul Kanin of failing to pay out cash Reiner claims he was owed as far back as fall 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Bear, 36, admitted five counts of failing to comply with the register notification requirements at Thames Magistrates' Court and was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Leavitt, by never failing to placate, flatter and worship her boss, has displayed a singular and decisive pathway, although not a very original one, to political success.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yet we also want treatment options that are sustainably affordable and accessible to everyone — and that is where our current system is failing us.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
But his strength was failing, and he rose with agonizing slowness, hampered by his sodden clothes.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
