failure

American  

[feyl-yer] / ˈfeɪl yər /

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.

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failure British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• nonfailure noun

Etymology

Origin of failure

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

I feel like this is setting us both up for failure because he has never cracked $40,000 in his life and only surpassed $20,000 last month.

From MarketWatch

Systemic failures in the FAA and Army had led to the crash, they believed, a conviction that drove them to push for safety reforms.

From The Wall Street Journal

If that was what this was supposed to be, it would rightly be judged a spectacular failure because no one of rank followed his example.

From BBC

"The trouble is, they're trying to romanticise a dark and toxic story, so that is setting the audience up for a failure," she says.

From BBC

The same forces that produce traffic jams and market bubbles—congestion, imperfect information, coordination failures—are at work here too, only with candles.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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