Meaning & Definition of Fail in English

1. 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"

2. Be unsuccessful

• "Where do today's public schools fail?"

• "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"

3. 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"

4. 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"

5. Be unable

• "I fail to understand your motives"

6. Judge unacceptable

• "The teacher failed six students"

7. Fail to get a passing grade

• "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"

• "Did i fail the test?"

8. 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"

9. 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. Prove insufficient

• "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"

11. Get worse

• "Her health is declining"