1. fail to do something; leave something undone; - Example: "She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib" - Example: "The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account" [syn: fail, neglect]
2. be unsuccessful; - Example: "Where do today's public schools fail?" - Example: "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" [syn: fail, go wrong, miscarry]
3. disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; - Example: "His sense of smell failed him this time" - Example: "His strength finally failed him" - Example: "His children failed him in the crisis" [syn: fail, betray]
4. stop operating or functioning; - Example: "The engine finally went" - Example: "The car died on the road" - Example: "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town" - Example: "The coffee maker broke" - Example: "The engine failed on the way to town" - Example: "her eyesight went after the accident" [syn: fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down]
5. be unable; - Example: "I fail to understand your motives"
6. judge unacceptable; - Example: "The teacher failed six students"
7. fail to get a passing grade; - Example: "She studied hard but failed nevertheless" - Example: "Did I fail the test?" [syn: fail, flunk, bomb, flush it]
8. fall short in what is expected; - Example: "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law" - Example: "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"
9. become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; - Example: "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor" - Example: "A number of banks failed that year"
10. prove insufficient; - Example: "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought" [syn: fail, run out, give out]
11. get worse; - Example: "Her health is declining"