malfunction
Americannoun
-
malfunctions
plural
verb (used without object)
-
malfunctions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
malfunctioned,
past participle, past
-
malfunctioning
present participle
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
malfunctionsimple
-
malfunctionssimple
-
have malfunctionedperfect
-
has malfunctionedperfect
-
am malfunctioningprogressive
-
are malfunctioningprogressive
-
is malfunctioningprogressive
-
have been malfunctioningperfect progressive
-
has been malfunctioningperfect progressive
Past
-
malfunctionedsimple
-
had malfunctionedperfect
-
was malfunctioningprogressive
-
were malfunctioningprogressive
-
had been malfunctioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of malfunction
Explanation
To malfunction is to fail to work properly. If your toaster spits out a charred, smoky mess no matter what setting it’s on, your toaster is definitely malfunctioning. When something functions, it works. Adding the prefix -mal (meaning "bad") to function indicates bad or unsuccessful functioning. When a computer malfunctions, you could lose your data. A malfunctioning car could cause an accident or leave you stranded. This word is typically used in reference to technology, tools, and gadgets. However, if you make a stupid mistake, you might joke that your brain has malfunctioned.
Vocabulary lists containing malfunction
"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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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:
When these structures malfunction, they can contribute to several diseases, many of them rare.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Volatility was contained, and trading was orderly—not a malfunction but the machine doing its job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
We’ve had water treatment failures, chemical imbalances brought on by malfunction, E. coli contamination, and the people of Flint, Michigan, of course, appreciate the criticality of clean water better than anyone in the country.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Not only that, the cartographic malfunction included completely unrecognisable shapes of the six misidentified countries.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
At the time, it was believed that computer systems would malfunction when internal program systems reset to the year 00.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Extremely structured to this day, if something throws off Freeman’s schedule, his “robot mind,” as he puts it, malfunctions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Apple’s successes are famous, but Mr. Pogue doesn’t steer away from discussing the dead-end products and corporate malfunctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Satellites passing through this region are exposed to elevated levels of radiation, increasing the risk of technical malfunctions, hardware damage, and even temporary outages.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
Orbital changes of satellites also increase the risk of collision and space weather can also play havoc with sensitive electronics on board, causing malfunctions.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
First they discovered bird droppings in their detector and checked for other possible malfunctions, but soon ruled these out.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
In fact, the devices appear to have malfunctioned.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The transmission malfunctioned in his 1978 boat, Miss Julie, which he also uses for crabbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Actually, it’s Stuart from an alternative universe enlisting him to restore things with the help of a malfunctioned quantum interference device created by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Its woes hit a nadir last week when a radio communications system malfunctioned, crippling nationwide for several hours and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in trains.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
It was like something inside of him had malfunctioned, and he was going to keep rambling until his batteries died.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
The achievement could eventually help researchers develop new approaches to treating diseases caused by malfunctioning mitochondria.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
The story, as it were, centers on a woman named Lisa Blupey, portrayed by stage veteran Jessica Vosk, who runs a small business selling socks but is drowning in financial statements and malfunctioning A.I.-powered platforms.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
It started appearing in my parents’ pantry in Costco two-packs, usually beside gigantic cases of bottled water, enough paper towels to absorb a malfunctioning sprinkler system and gallon-sized jugs of olive oil.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
For example, the tube-bunker was initially envisioned as a “completely dark space” twinkling with a variety of malfunctioning countdown clocks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
But the autopilot on the plane was malfunctioning, and it had been switched off.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
