failure

[feyl-yer]

noun

1. an act or instance of failing fail or proving unsuccessful; lack of success.

   His effort ended in failure.

   The campaign was a failure.

2. nonperformance of something due, required, or expected.

   a failure to do what one has promised;

   a failure to appear.

3. a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency.

   the failure of crops.

4. deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc..

   The failure of her health made retirement necessary.

5. a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.

6. a becoming insolvent or bankrupt.

   the failure of a bank.

7. a person or thing that proves unsuccessful.

   He is a failure in his career.

   The cake is a failure.

failure

/ ˈfeɪljə /

noun

1. the act or an instance of failing

2. a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing

   the evening was a failure

3. nonperformance of something required or expected

   failure to attend will be punished

4. cessation of normal operation; breakdown

   a power failure

5. an insufficiency or shortage

   a crop failure

6. a decline or loss, as in health or strength

7. the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc

8. the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt

Other Word Forms

• nonfailure noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of failure¹

First recorded in 1635–45; fail + -ure; replacing failer “a fault, default,” from Anglo-French (noun use of infinitive), for Old French faillir

Example Sentences

Thousands of unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after an official review found they had been left with huge debts caused by systemic failures.

Read more on BBC

The doctor ruled out the possibility that she had suffered respiratory failure or cardiac arrest, according to the reports.

Read more on BBC

It would be harsh to call Grealish a failure because he won almost all there is to win at City.

Read more on BBC

American cryptographer Bruce Schneier told the BBC that failures in cryptographic systems often lie in the fact that "to provide any actual security" they have to be "operated by humans".

Read more on BBC

Atlanta officials think that with for-profit supermarket management they can avoid the failures of some other government grocery experiments.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bankruptcy 
• breakdown 
• collapse 
• decline 
• defeat 
• deficiency 
• deterioration 
• failing 
• loss 
• misstep