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:
Volatility was contained, and trading was orderly—not a malfunction but the machine doing its job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
When gene activation goes wrong, cells can malfunction and contribute to diseases, including cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 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
“A fireworks malfunction did occur during last night’s post-match celebration at Angel City FC’s game vs. Orlando at BMO Stadium,” the team said in a statement to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
“I just talked to Gillespie, and he told me that the radar malfunction of your bird was more serious than first reported.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
When spots in premium-format theaters went on sale last week, ticketing sites including Fandango and AMC Theatres faced a bottleneck of traffic that resulted in buyers reporting malfunctions and marathon waits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Its report said Nintendo had "commented only in 2020, and not as soon as it was aware of the malfunctions", the Commerce Ministry and the court in Nanterre, outside Paris, said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
In a tongue-in-cheek post to Instagram, Glass Animals - best known for their 2020 sleeper-hit Heat Waves - claimed culpability for the lunar lavatory malfunctions.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
Those recorded cues act as a fail-safe against technical malfunctions during the broadcast, though the orchestra aims to play everything live.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Plane crashes are much more likely to be the result of an accumulation of minor difficulties and seemingly trivial malfunctions.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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
On March 5, Sri Lanka took control of the Iranian naval vessel, Irins Bushehr, after it had requested to dock at one of country's ports after one of its engines malfunctioned.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
During the first orbit, the automatic control system malfunctioned.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
You end up with a faulty port, malfunctioning screen or a bad battery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 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
In Italy, courts in Palermo, Sicily, said they were suspending all non-urgent hearings until June 29 due to "malfunctioning air conditioning" while teaching unions in France called for strike action over "unacceptable working conditions".
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
An experimental treatment that resets a malfunctioning immune system has put the disease lupus into remission in early UK trials.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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.
