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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"
   - neglect
    
2. Be unsuccessful
   "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
   - go wrong, miscarry
    
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"
   - betray
    
4. Stop operating or functioning
   "The engine failed on the way to town"
   - go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down
    
5. Be unable
   "I fail to understand your motives"
    
6. Judge unacceptable
   "The teacher failed six students"
    
7. Fail to get a passing grade
   "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
   - flunk, bomb, flush it
    
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
   "A number of banks failed that year"
    
10. Prove insufficient
    "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
    - run out, give out
     
11. Get worse

Derived forms: failing, failed, fails

See also: failing, failure

Type of: change, decline, disappoint, evaluate, judge, let down, pass judgment, worsen

Antonym: manage, pass, succeed

Encyclopedia: Fail