failure — ODE

failure /ˈfeɪljə

▸ noun [mass noun]

1 lack of success:

an economic policy that is doomed to failure.

▪ [count noun] an unsuccessful person or thing:

bad weather had resulted in crop failures

I'm so proud of myself for getting here and no longer feel like a failure.

2 the neglect or omission of expected or required action:

their failure to comply with the basic rules.

▪ [count noun] a lack or deficiency of a desirable quality:

a failure of imagination.

3 the action or state of not functioning:

symptoms of heart failure

[count noun] a chance engine failure.

▪ [count noun] a sudden cessation of power:

a sudden power failure.

▪ [count noun] the collapse of a business:

business failures rose by 53%.

– ORIGIN mid 17th century (originally as failer, in the senses ‘non-occurrence’ and ‘cessation of supply’): from Anglo-Norman French failer for Old French faillir (see fail).