# fail

Pronunciation: say "FAYL" /feɪl/

## Verb

1. To not succeed in an attempt or undertaking.
   - Simple: To try to do something but not succeed.
   - _Most startups fail within their first few years._
   - _The rescue mission failed despite careful planning._
2. To not do or accomplish something intended, expected, or required, including neglecting a duty or responsibility.
   - Simple: To not do something you intended, were expected to do, or should have done.
   - _The committee failed to reach an agreement._
   - _Tenants who fail to pay rent on time risk eviction._
3. Of a machine or system, to stop operating correctly.
   - Simple: To stop working the right way, as a machine or part does.
   - _The backup generator failed during the storm._
   - _Brakes can fail if they are not maintained._
4. To let down or prove insufficient for someone; to disappoint expectations or desert in a time of need.
   - Simple: To let someone down by not giving the help they needed.
   - _His memory failed him during the exam._
   - _Leaders too often fail the very people they promised to protect._
8. To receive one or more non-passing grades in school or other academic work.
   - Simple: To get a grade too low to pass in school or college.
   - _She failed chemistry but retook it the following semester._
   - _Students who fail more than two courses must meet an advisor._
5. To become unable to pay one's debts or meet business obligations; to go bankrupt.
   - Simple: To run out of money and be unable to pay what you owe.
   - _Several lenders failed when borrowers stopped repaying their loans._
   - _A business that cannot pay its debts will eventually fail._
9. To give a student a non-passing grade in a course or examination.
   - Simple: To give a student a grade too low to pass.
   - _The examiner failed half the class that year._
   - _Instructors who fail too many students draw scrutiny._
7. To become weaker, less, or insufficient, or to stop being present or adequate, as of health, eyesight, light, or crops.
   - Simple: To become weaker or smaller, or to stop being enough, like failing eyesight or a failed harvest.
   - _The daylight failed quickly behind the mountains._
   - _Her grandfather's health started to fail the winter after he retired._

## Adjective

6. Inadequate or unacceptable; falling short of what is wanted. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Very bad or not good enough.
   - _My brother tried to fix the sink himself, and the result was totally fail, with water all over the floor._
   - _Wearing a heavy wool suit to a beach wedding in July was so fail, and he knew it right away._

## Noun

10. Slang: something that is a complete failure or embarrassingly bad, or such poor quality in general. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Slang: something that goes badly wrong or is very poor.
   - _Critics called the sequel a fail compared to the original._
   - _The whole marketing campaign was an embarrassing fail._
11. A non-passing grade awarded in an academic examination.
   - Simple: A grade that means you did not pass a test or class.
   - _Two fails in one semester put her on academic probation._
   - _A fail in the practical test means repeating the entire course._
12. An instance of failure, especially a financial transaction, such as a trade or delivery, that is not completed.
   - Simple: A breakdown of a deal or payment that does not go through.
   - _The clearinghouse reported a fail on the bond delivery._
   - _Repeated fails in settlement triggered an audit._

## Verb

13. To miss attaining something, or to lose it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To miss getting something, or to lose it.
14. To be short of something; to lack or be deficient in it, used with "of." *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To not have enough of something, falling short of what is needed.
15. To make an error in judgment; to be mistaken. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a mistake in what you think or decide.
16. Of a person, to perish or lose one's life. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To die, or to come to the end of one's life.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A slice of turf cut from open grassland.

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English failen, borrowed from Old French falir, which goes back to Vulgar Latin *fallire, an altered form of Latin fallere ('to deceive, disappoint'). It is thought to derive from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to lie, deceive' or possibly one meaning 'to stumble.'

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fail (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).