fail

(fāl)

v. failed, fail·ing, fails

v.intr.

1. To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit.

a. To be unsuccessful: an experiment that failed.

b. To be unsuccessful in being acted upon: an idea that failed to be accepted by the board.

3. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum.

4. To prove insufficient in quantity or duration; give out: The water supply failed during the drought.

5. To decline, as in strength or effectiveness: The light began to fail.

6. To cease functioning properly: The engine failed.

7. To give way or be made otherwise useless as a result of excessive strain: The rusted girders failed and caused the bridge to collapse.

8. To become bankrupt or insolvent: Their business failed during the last recession.

v.tr.

1. To disappoint or prove undependable to: Our sentries failed us.

2. To abandon; forsake: His strength failed him.

3. To omit to perform (an expected duty, for example): We must not fail our obligation to the earthquake victims.

4. To leave undone; neglect: failed to wash the dishes.

a. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum in (a course, for example): failed algebra twice.

b. To give such a grade of failure to (a student): failed me in algebra.

6. To be detected by (a drug test) as having used a banned substance.

1. A failing grade: The student received a fail on the final paper.

2. Informal Something that does not achieve the desired result; a failure: My first attempt to make flourless cookies was a big fail.

Idiom:

without fail

1. With no chance of failure: Be here at noon without fail.

2. Every single time: "Always we get a good rain on Labor Day, without fail—like clockwork" (Rick Bass). "Whenever he returned to his hut, almost without fail some money was missing from the basket" (Paul Theroux).

[Middle English failen, from Old French faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallīre, variant of Latin fallere, to deceive.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fail

(feɪl)

1. to be unsuccessful in an attempt (at something or to do something)

2. (intr) to stop operating or working properly: the steering failed suddenly.

3. (Education) to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required for success in (a course, examination, etc)

4. (tr) to prove disappointing, undependable, or useless to (someone)

5. (tr) to neglect or be unable (to do something)

6. (intr) to prove partly or completely insufficient in quantity, duration, or extent

7. (intr) to weaken; fade away

8. (Commerce) (intr) to go bankrupt or become insolvent

9. (Education) a failure to attain the required standard, as in an examination

10. without fail definitely; with certainty

[C13: from Old French faillir, ultimately from Latin fallere to disappoint; probably related to Greek phēlos deceitful]

fail

(fel)

[perhaps from Scottish Gaelic fàl]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fail

(feɪl)

v.i.

1. to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved: The experiment failed.

2. to receive less than the passing grade or mark in an examination, class, or course of study.

3. to be or become deficient or lacking; fall short.

4. to lose strength or vigor; become weak.

5. to stop functioning or operating.

6. to dwindle, pass, or die away.

7. to become unable to meet or pay debts or business obligations; become insolvent or bankrupt.

8. (of a building member, structure, machine part, etc.) to break, bend, or be otherwise destroyed or made useless because of an excessive load.

v.t.

9. to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of: He failed to do his duty.

10. to prove of no use or help to: His friends failed him.

11. to receive less than a passing grade or mark in.

12. to declare (a person) unsuccessful in a test or course of study; give less than a passing grade to.

13. a stockbroker's inability to deliver or receive security within the required time after sale or purchase.

14. Obs. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc.

Idioms:

without fail, with certainty; positively.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French faillir < Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint]

fail

Past participle: failed
Gerund: failing

Imperative
fail
fail

Present
I fail
you fail
he/she/it fails
we fail
you fail
they fail

Preterite
I failed
you failed
he/she/it failed
we failed
you failed
they failed

Present Continuous
I am failing
you are failing
he/she/it is failing
we are failing
you are failing
they are failing

Present Perfect
I have failed
you have failed
he/she/it has failed
we have failed
you have failed
they have failed

Past Continuous
I was failing
you were failing
he/she/it was failing
we were failing
you were failing
they were failing

Past Perfect
I had failed
you had failed
he/she/it had failed
we had failed
you had failed
they had failed

Future
I will fail
you will fail
he/she/it will fail
we will fail
you will fail
they will fail

Future Perfect
I will have failed
you will have failed
he/she/it will have failed
we will have failed
you will have failed
they will have failed

Future Continuous
I will be failing
you will be failing
he/she/it will be failing
we will be failing
you will be failing
they will be failing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been failing
you have been failing
he/she/it has been failing
we have been failing
you have been failing
they have been failing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been failing
you will have been failing
he/she/it will have been failing
we will have been failing
you will have been failing
they will have been failing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been failing
you had been failing
he/she/it had been failing
we had been failing
you had been failing
they had been failing

Conditional
I would fail
you would fail
he/she/it would fail
we would fail
you would fail
they would fail

Past Conditional
I would have failed
you would have failed
he/she/it would have failed
we would have failed
you would have failed
they would have failed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb	1.	fail - 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" neglect lose track - fail to keep informed or aware; "She has so many books, she just lost track and cannot find this volume" strike out - put out or be put out by a strikeout; "Oral struck out three batters to close the inning" default, default on - fail to pay up choke - fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation; "The team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the coach and the audience" muff - fail to catch, as of a ball miss - fail to attend an event or activity; "I missed the concert"; "He missed school for a week"
	2.	fail - be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" go wrong, miscarry take it on the chin - undergo failure or defeat miss - fail to reach or get to; "She missed her train" overreach - fail by aiming too high or trying too hard bobble, bodge, bollix, bollix up, botch, botch up, bumble, bungle, flub, fluff, foul up, louse up, mess up, mishandle, muck up, ball up, spoil, muff, screw up, fumble, blow - make a mess of, destroy or ruin; "I botched the dinner and we had to eat out"; "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement" strike out - be unsuccessful in an endeavor; "The candidate struck out with his health care plan" fall - suffer defeat, failure, or ruin; "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside" shipwreck - suffer failure, as in some enterprise fall flat, fall through, founder, flop - fail utterly; collapse; "The project foundered" bring home the bacon, deliver the goods, succeed, win, come through - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won"
	3.	fail - 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" betray disappoint, let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage"
	4.	fail - 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" conk out, go bad, break down, die, give out, give way, break, go change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" break - render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!" croak, decease, die, drop dead, buy the farm, cash in one's chips, give-up the ghost, kick the bucket, pass away, perish, snuff it, pop off, expire, conk, exit, choke, go, pass - pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102" go down, crash - stop operating; "My computer crashed last night"; "The system goes down at least once a week" blow out, burn out, blow - melt, break, or become otherwise unusable; "The lightbulbs blew out"; "The fuse blew" misfire - fail to fire or detonate; "The guns misfired" malfunction, misfunction - fail to function or function improperly; "the coffee maker malfunctioned"
	5.	fail - be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" bring off, carry off, manage, negociate, pull off - be successful; achieve a goal; "She succeeded in persuading us all"; "I managed to carry the box upstairs"; "She pulled it off, even though we never thought her capable of it"; "The pianist negociated the difficult runs"
	6.	fail - judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" pass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people" flunk, flush it, bomb, fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" pass - accept or judge as acceptable; "The teacher passed the student although he was weak"
	7.	fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" flunk, flush it, bomb fail - 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" fail - judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" make it, pass - go successfully through a test or a selection process; "She passed the new Jersey Bar Exam and can practice law now"
	8.	fail - 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" flunk, flush it, bomb, fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
	9.	fail - 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.	fail - prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought" give out, run out
	11.	fail - get worse; "Her health is declining" decline, worsen - grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened"

fail

verb

1. be unsuccessful, founder, fall flat, come to nothing, fall, miss, go down, break down, flop (informal), be defeated, fall short, fall through, fall short of, fizzle out (informal), come unstuck, run aground, miscarry, be in vain, misfire, fall by the wayside, go astray, come to grief, come a cropper (informal), bite the dust, go up in smoke, go belly-up (slang), come to naught, lay an egg (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), go by the board, not make the grade (informal), go down like a lead balloon (informal), turn out badly, fall flat on your face, meet with disaster, be found lacking or wanting He was afraid the revolution they had started would fail.
be unsuccessful grow, pass, succeed, triumph, strengthen, thrive, flourish, bloom, prosper, have legs (informal)

2. disappoint, abandon, desert, neglect, omit, let down, forsake, turn your back on, be disloyal to, break your word, forget We waited twenty-one years, don't fail us now.

3. stop working, stop, die, give up, break down, cease, stall, cut out, malfunction, conk out (informal), go on the blink (informal), go phut The lights mysteriously failed.

5. go bankrupt, crash, collapse, fold (informal), close down, go under, go bust (informal), go out of business, be wound up, go broke (informal), go to the wall, go into receivership, go into liquidation, become insolvent, smash So far this year, 104 banks have failed.

7. give out, disappear, fade, dim, dwindle, wane, gutter, languish, peter out, die away, grow dim, sink Here in the hills, the light failed more quickly

8. not pass, be unsuccessful, flunk (informal), screw up (informal), wash out, underperform, not make the grade, not come up to scratch, underachieve, not come up to the mark (informal) I lived in fear of failing my end-of-term exams.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

fail

verb

1. To prove deficient or insufficient:

3. To receive less than a passing grade:

4. To not do (something necessary):

5. To lose strength or power:

6. To cease functioning properly:

7. To make or become unusable or inoperative:

8. To undergo sudden financial failure:

Translations

أخفقيُخَيِّب ، يَخْذُليَضعُف، يَهِنيَفْشَليَفْشَلُ

selhatneuspětpřestatpropadnoutselhávat

dumpefejlemislykkesslå fejlsvigte

edutunurjumaseiskuma

epäonnistua

ne uspjeti

megbuktatnem sikerül

bilabregîastfellamistakast; falla

失敗する矢敗する

실패하다

desum

ko nors nepadarymasko nors nepadarytineabejotinainepavykus gautinesant

bremzes nenostrādājaciest neveiksmiizgāztizkristneizdoties

nechať prepadnúť

ne uspetispodleteti

misslyckas

ล้มเหลว

thất bại

fail

[feɪl]

B. VT

3. (= not succeed) to fail to be elected → no lograr ser elegido
to fail to win a prize → no obtener un premio

4. (= omit, neglect) to fail to do sth → no hacer algo, dejar de hacer algo
don't fail to visit her → no deje de visitarla

5. (= be unable) I fail to see why/what → no veo or alcanzo a ver por qué/qué

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fail

[ˈfeɪl]

(in exam, test) [+ candidate] → recaler

(= not pass) (in exam, test) → échouer
In our class, no one failed → Dans notre classe, personne n'a échoué.

(= be unsuccessful) [activity, attempt, plan, remedy] → échouer; [business, organization] → échouer; [system] → échouer; [marriage, relationship] → échouer

(= be unable) to fail to do sth [person] → ne pas parvenir à faire qch; [thing]
The bomb failed to explode → La bombe n'a pas explosé.

fail

(= be unsuccessful) → keinen Erfolg haben; (in mission, life etc) → versagen, scheitern; (campaign, efforts, negotiations, plan, experiment, marriage) → fehlschlagen, scheitern; (undertaking, attempt) → fehlschlagen, misslingen, missglücken; (applicant, application) → nicht angenommen werden; (election candidate, Theat: play) → durchfallen; (business) → eingehen; (charm, attempts at persuasion etc) → vergeblich or umsonst sein; he failed in his attempt to take control of the company → sein Versuch, die Leitung der Firma zu übernehmen, schlug fehl or blieb erfolglos or missglückte; he failed in his application for the post → seine Bewerbung wurde nicht angenommen; to fail in one’s duty → seine Pflicht nicht tun; to fail by 5 votes (motion) → mit 5 Stimmen Mehrheit abgelehnt werden; (person) → um 5 Stimmen geschlagen werden; if all else fails → wenn alle Stricke reißen; to fail miserably or dismally → kläglich scheitern

(= fall short) where he/the essay fails is in not being detailed enough → sein Fehler/der Fehler des Aufsatzes ist, dass er nicht ausführlich genug ist; this report fails in that it comes up with no clear proposals → dieser Bericht lässt es an klaren Vorschlägen fehlen; where you fail is that you lack relevant experience → Ihnen fehlt es an der notwendigen Erfahrung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fail

[feɪl]

1. vi

a. (gen) → fallire; (in exam, candidate) → essere respinto/a or bocciato/a; (show, play) → essere un fiasco
to fail in one's duty → mancare al proprio dovere

fail

(feil) verb

1. to be unsuccessful (in); not to manage (to do something). They failed in their attempt; I failed my exam; I failed to post the letter.

2. to break down or cease to work. The brakes failed.

3. to be insufficient or not enough. His courage failed (him).

4. (in a test, examination etc) to reject (a candidate). The examiner failed half the class.

5. to disappoint. They did not fail him in their support.

ˈfailing noun

a fault or weakness. He may have his failings, but he has always treated his children well.

preposition

if (something) fails or is lacking. Failing his help, we shall have to try something else.

ˈfailure (-jə) noun

1. the state or act of failing. She was upset by her failure in the exam; failure of the electricity supply.

2. an unsuccessful person or thing. He felt he was a failure.

3. inability, refusal etc to do something. his failure to reply.

without fail

definitely or certainly. I shall do it tomorrow without fail.

fail

→ يَفْشَلُ neuspět slå fejl scheitern αποτυγχάνω fracasar, no + infinitivo epäonnistua échouer ne uspjeti fallire 失敗する 실패하다 falen mislykkes zawieść falhar потерпеть неудачу misslyckas ล้มเหลว başarısız olmak thất bại 失败

fail

v. [to be deficient] fallar, faltar; dejar de;

without ___ → sin falta.