fail
fayl
- v 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 - v be unsuccessful
Where do today's public schools fail?
The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably - v 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 - v stop operating or functioning
The engine failed on the way to town - v be unable
I fail to understand your motives - v judge unacceptable
The teacher failed six students - v fail to get a passing grade
She studied hard but failed nevertheless
Did I fail the test? - v 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 - v become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
A number of banks failed that year - v prove insufficient
The water supply for the town failed after a long drought - v get worse
- If nothing else, I had learned my first lesson in creative theater advertising, for "You will not fail to thrill to The Sound of Music" was the main quote outside London's Palace .
- There's an uproar about whether the government should let AIG fail, a debate re-energized by the latest revelation of bonus payments going to AIG's executives.
- Passfail emerged in the late 1960s, washed in by the tide of student protest against "the System.