fail in English dictionary

  • fail

    Meanings and definitions of "fail"

    • a failure, especially of a financial transaction
    • a failing grade in an academic examination
    • (intransitive) To be unsuccessful.
    • (transitive) Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.)
    • (transitive) To neglect.
    • (intransitive, of a machine, etc.) To cease to operate correctly.
    • (transitive) To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert.
    • (intransitive) To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
    • (transitive) To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
    • adjective
      (slang, US)
      That is a failure.
    • noun
      (uncountable, slang)
      Poor quality; substandard workmanship.
    • noun
      (slang)
      A failure (condition of being unsuccessful)
    • noun
      (slang, US)
      A failure (something incapable of success)
    • noun
      A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action).
    • noun
      A failing grade in an academic examination.
    • noun
      A piece of turf cut from grassland.
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To be unsuccessful.
    • verb
      (transitive)
      Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.)
    • verb
      (transitive)
      To neglect.
    • verb
      (intransitive, of a machine, etc.)
      To cease to operate correctly.
    • verb
      (transitive)
      To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert.
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
    • verb
      (transitive)
      To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
    • verb
      (transitive, obsolete)
      To miss attaining; to lose.
    • verb
      To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence.
    • verb
      (archaic)
      To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of.
    • verb
      (archaic)
      To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink.
    • verb
      (archaic)
      To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker.
    • verb
      (obsolete)
      To perish; to die; used of a person.
    • verb
      (obsolete)
      To err in judgment; to be mistaken.
    • verb
      To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
    • A grade given to a student with extremely below average performance.
    • To not achieve a particular goal.
    • fail (at fishing, hunting, etc.)
    • miss (doing)
    • (to) fail
    • fail (e.g. exam)
    • cease to operate
    • cause to fail
    • be unsuccessful
    • not achieve a goal
    • be negligent
    • verb
      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"
    • verb
      be unable; "I fail to understand your motives"
    • verb
      be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
    • verb
      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"
    • verb
      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"
    • verb
      fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
    • verb
      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"
    • verb
      get worse; "Her health is declining"
    • verb
      judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students"
    • verb
      prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
    • verb
      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 of "fail" in English dictionary

    go wrong, let down, evaluate are the top synonyms of "fail" in the English thesaurus.

    Antonyms of "fail" in English dictionary

    succeed, manage, pass are the top antonyms of "fail" in the English thesaurus.

    Grammar and declension of fail

    • fail ( third-person singular simple present fails, present participle failing, simple past and past participle failed)
    • fail ( plural  fails)
    • fail, failed, failed, fails, failing lp  liczba pojedyncza fail, lm  liczba mnoga fails
    • fail (comparative more fail, superlative most fail)
    • fail (countable and uncountable, plural fails)
    • fail (plural fails)
    • fail (third-person singular simple present fails, present participle failing, simple past and past participle failed)
  • Fail

Sample sentences with "fail"

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