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Adjective: fail-safe  'feyl'seyf
  1. Guaranteed not to fail
    "a fail-safe recipe for cheese soufflé"
     
  2. Eliminating danger by compensating automatically for a failure or malfunction
    "a fail-safe device in a nuclear weapon to deactivate it automatically in the event of accident"
Noun: fail-safe  'feyl'seyf
  1. A mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction

Derived forms: fail-safes

See also: safe, secure

Type of: mechanism

Encyclopedia: Fail-safe

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