failure
Americannoun
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an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success.
His effort ended in failure.
The campaign was a failure.
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nonperformance of something due, required, or expected.
a failure to do what one has promised;
a failure to appear.
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a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency.
the failure of crops.
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deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength, etc..
The failure of her health made retirement necessary.
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a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.
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a becoming insolvent or bankrupt.
the failure of a bank.
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a person or thing that proves unsuccessful.
He is a failure in his career.
The cake is a failure.
noun
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the act or an instance of failing
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a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing
the evening was a failure
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nonperformance of something required or expected
failure to attend will be punished
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cessation of normal operation; breakdown
a power failure
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an insufficiency or shortage
a crop failure
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a decline or loss, as in health or strength
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the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc
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the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of failure
First recorded in 1635–45; fail + -ure; replacing failer “a fault, default,” from Anglo-French (noun use of infinitive), for Old French faillir
Explanation
If you experience failure, things have not gone the way you'd hoped. I'm sorry to hear that your attempt to turn hay into gold has been a failure. Failure can also mean when something suddenly stops working or when you don't do something that you're expected to. A power failure might create an opportunity for a romantic candlelight dinner. Your failure to pay the electric bill may lead to a lot of romantic candlelight dinners, as long as you at least paid the gas bill. Someone who has no success in life a failure, as is an effort that doesn't work like your failure of a presidential campaign.
Vocabulary lists containing failure
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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List 6
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List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Violations could result in civil penalties of up to $2 million per day, while failure to comply with an emergency shutdown order could carry penalties of up to $20 million per day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Even the European Union, which Albania hopes to join in 2030, has spoken out on the country's failure to meet obligations under Chapter 27, which relates to the environment and climate change.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
It went down on 11 April 1952 following multiple-engine failure shortly after take-off.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
There’s also been concern at religious studies programs amid different estimates of failure rates calculated by the Education Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Worrying about Max and the failure of my chutzpah.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
But analysts say they are being scapegoated for South Africa's deep economic and governance challenges, including unemployment above 30 percent and massive failures in the delivery of basic services.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Now as survivors fight to rebuild, they should not be asked to bear the cost of protecting the corporations whose failures devastated their community.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
In their book “The M&A Failure Trap,” they reported that roughly 70% to 75% of the 40,000 M&A deals between 1980 and 2022 were failures — destroying shareholder value.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Objecting to the proposal, Emma Reynolds said in June that she did not want a scenario where Thames Water customers had to "pick up the bill for the company's failures".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
As is the case with all major failures, or successes for that matter, there were many reasons.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.