1. (

• fail ,
• neglect

) 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" ;

2. (

• fail ,
• go_wrong ,
• miscarry

) be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" ;

3. (

• fail ,
• betray

) 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" ;

4. (

• fail ,
• go_bad ,
• give_way ,
• die ,
• give_out ,
• conk_out ,
• go ,
• break ,
• break_down

) stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident" ;

5. (

• fail ,

) be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" ;

6. (

• fail ,

) judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" ;

7. (

• fail ,
• flunk ,
• bomb ,
• flush_it

) fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" ;

8. (

• fail ,

) 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. (

• fail

) become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year" ;

10. (

• fail ,
• run_out ,
• give_out ,

) prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought" ;

11. (

• fail ,

) get worse; "Her health is declining" ;