fail

/feɪl/

fail verb: to be unsuccessful.

Image: Hervé Simon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

fail (third-person singular simple present fails, present participle failing, simple past and past participle failed)

(intransitive) To be unsuccessful.
- Throughout my life, I have always failed.
- If they ſhoulde gyue battayle it was to be doubted, leaſt through treaſon amõgſt themſelues, the armie ſhould be betrayed into the enimies hands, the which would not fayle to execute all kinde of crueltie in the ſlaughter of the whole nation.1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “The Historie of Englande”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC...
Synonyms:

miscarry, founder, come to nought, come to nothing, crash and burn, fall flat, fall on one's face, go downhill, go down the toilet, go to pot
(transitive) Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.)
- The truck failed to start.
(transitive) To neglect.
- The report fails to take into account all the mitigating factors.
- Those who have advocated the closure of the G.C. have so far failed to say by which alternative route this North-to-West traffic could be carried.1960 December, B. Perren, “The role of the Great Central—present and future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 765
(intransitive) Of a machine, etc.: to cease to operate correctly.
- After running five minutes, the engine failed.
- We also found that the only emergency egress from the tram was by smashing the front or rear windscreens, and that emergency lighting had failed when the tram overturned.2021 December 29, Dominique Louis, “Causal analysis: crashworthiness at Sandilands”, in RAIL, number 947, page 33
(transitive) To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert; to disappoint one's expectations.
- I've failed my parents many times growing up.
- There shall not fail thee a man on the throne.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Kings 2:4
(ambitransitive) To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
- I failed English last year.
Synonyms:

flunk
(transitive) To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
- The professor failed me because I did not complete any of the course assignments.
(obsolete, transitive) To miss attaining; to lose.
- though that seat of earthly bliss be failed1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC
To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence.
- The crops failed last year.
- as the waters fail from the sea1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 14:11
Synonyms:

go, bomb, bust, conk, tank
(archaic) To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of.
- If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not to be attributed to their size.1757, Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful
(archaic) To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink.
- When earnestly they seek / Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail.1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC...
(archaic) To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker.
- A sick man fails.

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(obsolete) To perish; to die; used of a person.
- had the king in his last sickness failed1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...
(obsolete) To err in judgment; to be mistaken.
- Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps / Shall grieve him, if I fail not.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
(intransitive) 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.
- "But you cannot tell where she went on leaving here?" Robert asked, despondingly.
  "No, sir; missus says she believes the lady failed, and that she left sudden like, and didn't want her address to be known in the neighbourhood."1862, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley's Secret

Noun (1)

fail (countable and uncountable, plural fails)

A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action).
A failing grade in an academic examination.
(US, slang) A failure (something incapable of success).
(slang, uncountable) Poor quality; substandard workmanship.
- The project was full of fail.

Adjective

fail (comparative more fail, superlative most fail)

(US, slang) Unsuccessful; inadequate; unacceptable in some way.

Noun (2)

fail (plural fails)

A piece of turf cut from grassland.

Proper noun capitalized: Fail

Fail (plural Fails)

A surname.

fail meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fail in Hindi

to fail, be ruined: बिगड़ना bigaṛnā

fail in Marathi

to receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits: नापास होणे nāpās hoṇe, फेल होणे phel hoṇe

fail in Urdu

ہارنا, خالی جانا, ناکام ہونا, رہ جانا

More languagesFewer languages

fail in Bengali: ভেস্তা bhesta, ঘুচা ghuca
fail in Telugu: ఓడు ōḍu, తడబడు taḍabaḍu, మట్టి కరచు maṭṭi karacu, ఈగు īgu
fail in Malayalam: പരാജയപ്പെടുക
fail in Kannada: ನಪಾಸು, ವಿಫಲತೆ, ಸೋಲು, ಅನುತ್ತೀರ್ಣತೆ
fail in Odia: ବିଫଳ ହେବାକୁ
fail in Sanskrit: स्रेधति srédhati, भ्रंशते bhráṃśate
fail in Tagalog: biguin, mabigo, pumalpak, bumagsak
fail in Arabic: أَخْفَقَ ʔaḵfaqa, فَشِلَ fašila, رَسَبَ rasaba
fail in Malay: gagal
fail in Indonesian: gagal
fail in Persian: خراب شدن, تصورکردن, موفق نشدن, شکست خوردن
fail in Thai: ล้มเหลว lóm-lěeo, พัง pang, เจ๊ง jéng, ตก dtòk
fail in Vietnamese: thất bại

Examples of fail in a sentence

As the world’s drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants.2013 August 10, “A new prescription”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
And if the arts of humbleness failed him, he overcame you by sheer impudence.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...

All 40 example sentences with fail

Synonyms of fail

13 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

succeed

All synonyms and antonyms of fail

Forms of fail

Verb
third-person singular present	fails
present participle	failing
past participle	failed
past	failed
second-person singular present (archaic)	failest
second-person singular past (archaic)	failedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	faileth
alternative form (obsolete)	faile
alternative form (obsolete)	fayle
Noun
plural	fails
alternative form	feal
Adjective
comparative	more fail
superlative	most fail
Proper noun
plural	Fails

Past tense of fail: failed

Plural of fail: fails

Origin of fail

Inherited from Middle English failen, borrowed from Old French falir, from Vulgar Latin *fallire, alteration of Latin fallere (“to deceive, disappoint”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰāl- (“to lie, deceive”) or Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- (“to stumble”). Compare Alemannic German fääle (“to lack”), Cimbrian béelan, véelan (“to fail”), veln (“to be absent, missing”), Dutch falen, feilen (“to fail, miss”), German fallieren, fehlen (“to fail, miss, lack”), Danish fejle (“to fail, err”), Swedish fallera (“to fail, break, malfunction”), Spanish fallar (“to fail, miss”).

Unknown. Compare Scottish Gaelic fàl (“hedge”), Scots faill (“turf”). Attested from the 16th century.

* As a Scottish and Irish surname, shortened from McPhail. * As a Manx surname, variant of Fayle. * As a south German surname, from the adjective feil (“for sale”).

Words formed from fail

Phrases with fail

Words that rhyme with fail

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fail

What does fail mean?: Fail means to be unsuccessful.
What is fail in Hindi?: Fail in Hindi is बिगड़ना (bigaṛnā). See Fail meaning in Hindi.
How do you use fail in a sentence?: As the world’s drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants.
What part of speech is fail?: Fail can be a verb, a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce fail?: Fail is pronounced /feɪl/.
What is the past tense of fail?: The past tense of fail is failed.

Words near fail in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-fail.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fail.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fail. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.