Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

fail

1. fail \'fa-(*)l\ \'fa--lin-le-\ vb [ME failen, fr. OF faillir, fr. 
   (assumed) VL fallire, alter.]of L fallere to deceive, disappoint; prob. 
   akin to Gk phe-los deceitful 1a: to lose strength : WEAKEN  1b: to fade or 
   die away  1c: to stop functioning  2a: to fall short {~ed in his duty}  2b: 
   to be or become absent or inadequate {the water supply ~ed)X} 2c: to be 
   unsuccessful (as in passing an examination)  2d: to become bankrupt or 
   insolvent  1: DISAPPOINT, DESERT  2: to be deficient in  3: to leave undone 
   : NEGLECT  4a: to be unsuccessful in passing  4b: to grade (as a student) 
   as not passing  - fail.ing.ly av
2. fail n : FAILURE - usu. used in the phrase without fail