failure
Americannoun
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an act or instance of failing fail or proving unsuccessful; lack of success.
His effort ended in failure.
The campaign was a failure.
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nonperformance of something due, required, or expected.
a failure to do what one has promised;
a failure to appear.
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a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency.
the failure of crops.
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deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc..
The failure of her health made retirement necessary.
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a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.
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a becoming insolvent or bankrupt.
the failure of a bank.
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a person or thing that proves unsuccessful.
He is a failure in his career.
The cake is a failure.
noun
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the act or an instance of failing
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a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing
the evening was a failure
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nonperformance of something required or expected
failure to attend will be punished
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cessation of normal operation; breakdown
a power failure
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an insufficiency or shortage
a crop failure
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a decline or loss, as in health or strength
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the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc
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the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
War is always a failure—a failure of diplomacy, a failure to reconcile—and invariably carries abominable human costs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
The willful failure to file a tax return is a misdemeanor.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
Black said his faith helps him make sense of the violence he witnessed and endured — not simply as the product of individual malice, but as something sustained by collective moral failure.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
In a statement, Assistant District Attorney Kim D’Avignon blamed her office’s failure to secure an indictment on a lack of admissible evidence that would have proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
This other story was the story of a humiliating failure.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
