Fail - Definition

v 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" [syn: fail, neglect]
2: be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?";
"The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" [syn:
fail, go wrong, miscarry] [ant: bring home the bacon,
come through, deliver the goods, succeed, win]
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" [syn:
fail, betray]
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" [syn: fail, go bad, give way, die,
give out, conk out, go, break, break down]
5: be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" [ant: bring
off, carry off, manage, negociate, pull off]
6: judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" [ant:
pass]
7: fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed
nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" [syn: fail, flunk,
bomb, flush it] [ant: make it, pass]
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" [syn: fail, run out, give out]
11: get worse; "Her health is declining"