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: neglect ]
prove insufficient; The water supply for the town failed after a long drought
get worse; Her health is declining'
be unsuccessful; Where do todays 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
[ Syn: betray ]
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: go bad , give way , die , give out , conk out , go , break , break down ]
be unable; I fail to understand your motives'
judge unacceptable; The teacher failed six students'
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'