fail meaning and definition

FAIL verb

Definition of fail (verb)

1. fail to do something; leave something undone
   • "She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib"; "The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account"
   • synonyms: neglect
2. be unsuccessful
   • "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
   • synonyms: go wrong, miscarry
   • antonym: bring home the bacon
3. disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
   • "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis"
   • synonyms: betray
4. stop operating or functioning
   • "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"
   • synonyms: break, break down, conk out, die, give out, give way, go, go bad
5. be unable
   • "I fail to understand your motives"
   • antonym: bring off
6. judge unacceptable
   • "The teacher failed six students"
   • antonym: pass
7. fail to get a passing grade
   • "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
   • synonyms: bomb, flunk, flush it
   • antonym: make it
8. fall short in what is expected
   • "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"
9. become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
   • "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"
10. prove insufficient
    • "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
    • synonyms: give out, run out
11. get worse
    • "Her health is declining"