fail
verbs
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"
is derived from
be unsuccessful
"Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
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"
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"
is derived from
judge unacceptable
"The teacher failed six students"
verb group
fail to get a passing grade
"She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
is a type of (narrower)
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"
fail to get a passing grade
"She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
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"
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"
is derived from
prove insufficient
"The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
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