failed; failing; fails
1
a
: to lose strength : weaken
her health was failing
b
: to fade or die away
until our family line fails
c
: to stop functioning normally
the patient's heart failed
2
a
: to fall short
failed in his duty
b
: to be or become absent or inadequate
the water supply failed
c
: to be unsuccessful
the marriage failed
specifically
: to be unsuccessful in achieving a passing grade
took the exam and failed
d
: to become bankrupt or insolvent
banks were failing
1
a
: to disappoint the expectations or trust of
her friends failed her
b
: to miss performing an expected service or function for
his wit failed him
2
: to be deficient in : lack
never failed an invincible courage—
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur3
: to leave undone : neglect
fail to lock the door
4
a
: to be unsuccessful in passing
failed chemistry
b
: to grade (someone, such as a student) as not passing
The teacher failed only his two worst students.
plural fails
Synonyms
Examples of fail in a Sentence
Verb
He failed in his first attempt but succeeded in his second attempt.
His first company failed, but his second company succeeded.
He felt that he had failed her when she needed him most.
The government has failed the voters.
Recent Examples on the WebHussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2024
Sacramento County and Placer County both received failing grades for ozone, short-term particle pollution and long-term particle pollution.
Which US cities have the worst ozone pollution?
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 27 Apr. 2024
If that fails, the app could become outlawed in the U.S. as early as January 2025.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
After past efforts at compromise failed, Kelly and Democrats instead opted for a more openly political approach to pressure GOP leaders.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
There is no timetable yet for when mediation would begin, or what would happen if mediation fails.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2024
Over a dozen School 87 parents spoke at Thursday night’s board meeting, detailing an unsafe school setting for children, an unsupportive workplace for teachers and an environment where school leadership failed to address the concerns of parents.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Also this semester, the federal Department of Education opened an investigation into whether UW-Madison failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Had voters been aware that the state fails to track whether all that spending on the crisis is doing any good at all, Prop. 1 would likely have failed.
—Jon Coupal, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
In 2023, deals in the sector had a 46 percent close rate, a seven-point dip from the previous year, and a 30 percent fail rate, a seven-point uptick from 2022, according to an M&A review by financial software firm Datasite.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Trisha Yearwood may be a talented chef, but her wedding cake was a near fail.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
What could be more disheartening than a spectacular fail in front of the whole school, with a literal spotlight on you?
—Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
That was a fail for the 15th consecutive season;
— Second goal: Get the home-field playoff advantage.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024
But breaking with tradition, the Association of Social Worker Boards in 2022 released its pass/fail rates by demographic groups and revealed stark inequities.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Pass/fail rates are proprietary information, most of which is not shared publicly.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Summaries of all the applicants, which included pass/fail notes, were published on the AMCC website when the licenses were awarded Monday.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 13 Sep. 2023
Verb
If that effort fails, President Joe Biden may be the only person alive who has any chance of saving Israel and Lebanon from a catastrophic and avoidable conflict.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2024
Sacramento County and Placer County both received failing grades for ozone, short-term particle pollution and long-term particle pollution.
Which US cities have the worst ozone pollution?
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 27 Apr. 2024
If that fails, the app could become outlawed in the U.S. as early as January 2025.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
After past efforts at compromise failed, Kelly and Democrats instead opted for a more openly political approach to pressure GOP leaders.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
There is no timetable yet for when mediation would begin, or what would happen if mediation fails.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2024
Over a dozen School 87 parents spoke at Thursday night’s board meeting, detailing an unsafe school setting for children, an unsupportive workplace for teachers and an environment where school leadership failed to address the concerns of parents.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Apr. 2024
Also this semester, the federal Department of Education opened an investigation into whether UW-Madison failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2024
Had voters been aware that the state fails to track whether all that spending on the crisis is doing any good at all, Prop. 1 would likely have failed.
—Jon Coupal, Orange County Register, 26 Apr. 2024
Noun
And it might be said that De Sarno’s first showing was a fail, particularly in Asia-Pacific.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
In 2023, deals in the sector had a 46 percent close rate, a seven-point dip from the previous year, and a 30 percent fail rate, a seven-point uptick from 2022, according to an M&A review by financial software firm Datasite.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
Trisha Yearwood may be a talented chef, but her wedding cake was a near fail.
—Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
What could be more disheartening than a spectacular fail in front of the whole school, with a literal spotlight on you?
—Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
That was a fail for the 15th consecutive season;
— Second goal: Get the home-field playoff advantage.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024
But breaking with tradition, the Association of Social Worker Boards in 2022 released its pass/fail rates by demographic groups and revealed stark inequities.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Pass/fail rates are proprietary information, most of which is not shared publicly.
—Grace Rubenstein, STAT, 18 Jan. 2024
Summaries of all the applicants, which included pass/fail notes, were published on the AMCC website when the licenses were awarded Monday.
—Howard Koplowitz | Hkoplowitz@al.com, al, 13 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fail
Cite this Entry
“Fail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fail. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fail
1 of 2 verb1
a
: to lose strength : weaken
failing eyesight
b
: to stop functioning
the engine failed
2
a
: to fall short
failed in their duty
b
: to become absent or lacking
the power failed
c
: to be unsuccessful (as in passing an examination)
d
: to grade as not passing
fail a student
e
: to become bankrupt
3
: disappoint, desert
fail a friend in need
4
: to leave undone : neglect
fail to answer the telephone
fail
2 of 2 noun
: failure sense 1
—usually used in the phrase without fail
Medical Definition
fail
intransitive verb1
: to weaken or lose strength
her health was failing
2
: to stop functioning normally
the patient's heart failed
Legal Definition
fail
intransitive verb1
: to be or become inadequate or unsuccessful especially in fulfilling certain formal requirements
even if one or more terms are left open, a contract for sale does not fail for indefiniteness—Uniform Commercial Code
Uniform Commercial Code2
: to become bankrupt or insolvent
: to leave undone or neglect to do
fail to appear in court
fail to read a contract
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