26984 words

failures

11 definitions • 25 examples
1
the fact of someone or something not succeeding:

Examples:

total failure Now she finally had to admit that the project had been a total failure.
failure at I'm a bit of a failure at making (= I cannot make) cakes.
feel a failure I feel such a failure (= so unsuccessful) after losing my job.
end in failure Their attempt to climb Everest ended in failure.
be doomed to failure The whole project was doomed to failure right from the start (= it could never have succeeded).
2
the fact of not doing something that you must do or are expected to do:

Examples:

failure to His failure to return her phone call made her realize that something was wrong.
Failure to keep the chemical at the right temperature could lead to an explosion.
3
the fact of something not working, or stopping working as well as it should:

Examples:

heart failure He died of heart failure.
liver failure Hepatitis A can cause sickness, diarrhoea, jaundice, and even liver failure.
The accident was caused by the failure of the reactor's cooling system.
business failure The number of business failures rose steeply last year.
crop failure After three crop failures in a row, the people face starvation.
4
a lack of success in doing something:

Examples:

[ U ] Their attempt to sail across the Atlantic Ocean ended in failure.
[ C ] He was a failure as a businessman.
5
the fact of not doing something you should have done:

Examples:

[ + to infinitive ] His failure to return her phone call told her that something was wrong.
6
the fact of something not working as it should:

Examples:

[ U ] He died of heart failure.
[ C ] The new computer system was a complete failure (= It did not work).
7
a situation in which a company has been unsuccessful and has to stop operating:

Examples:

The number and seriousness of the bank failures took economists by surprise.
We're finally seeing a slowdown in the rate of business failures.
8
lack of success in trying to do something:

Examples:

If you're too scared of failure, you'll never try to achieve anything.
9
a situation in which a machine or system stops working:

Examples:

The cause of the crash is now thought to be engine failure.
10
someone or something that is not successful:

Examples:

He always thought of himself as a failure.
11
a situation in which someone does not do something they should do or are expected to do:

Examples:

Navigation