fail — ODE · Shobdo

fail /feɪl

▸ verb [no object]

1 be unsuccessful in achieving one's goal:

he failed in his attempt to secure election

[with infinitive] they failed to be ranked in the top ten.

▪ [with object] be unsuccessful in (an examination or interview):

she failed her finals.

▪ [with object] (of a person or a commodity) be unable to meet the standards set by (a test of quality or eligibility):

a player has failed a drugs test.

▪ [with object] judge (a candidate in an examination or test) not to have passed:

the criteria used to pass or fail the candidate.

2 neglect to do something:

[with infinitive] the firm failed to give adequate risk warnings.

▪ [with infinitive] behave in a way contrary to expectations by not doing something:

commuter chaos has again failed to materialize.

▪ (cannot fail to be/do something) used to express a strong belief that something must be the case:

she cannot have failed to be aware of the situation.

▪ (never fail to do something) used to indicate that something invariably happens:

such comments never failed to annoy him.

▪ [with object] desert or let down (someone):

at the last moment her nerve failed her.

3 cease to work properly; break down:

a lorry whose brakes had failed.

▪ become weaker or of poorer quality:

the light began to fail

(failing as adjective) his failing health.

▪ (of rain or a crop or supply) be insufficient when needed or expected:

the drought means crops have failed.

▪ (of a business or a person) cease trading because of lack of funds:

he lost his savings when the store failed.

▸ noun

1 a mark which is not high enough to pass an examination or test:

[as modifier] a fail grade.

2 informal a mistake, failure, or instance of poor performance:

their customer service is a massive fail

[mass noun] his first product demo was full of fail.

– PHRASES

fail upwards (also fail upward, fail up) informal
progress despite lack of talent or qualifications, in an undeserved or meritless way:

the rich kid with famous parents who never stops failing upwards

redundant employees who can't be fired are said to fail up.

too big to fail
(of a financial organization or other business) so important to the economy of a country that a government or central bank must take measures to prevent it from ceasing to trade or going bankrupt:

he caused a stir earlier this month when he said that no company was too big to fail.

without fail
with no exception; always:

he writes every week without fail.

– ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French faillir (verb), faille (noun), based on Latin fallere ‘deceive’.