What does “fail” mean?
- 1
verbto not succeed in doing something
Their first business failed after a year.
- 2
verbto not pass a test or exam
I failed my driving test the first time.
- 3
verbto stop working correctly
The brakes failed and the car crashed.
Fail at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /feɪl/ · FAYL
How to use “fail” correctly
“Fail to do sth” is a formal way to say “not do sth”: “He failed to call me back.”
Common phrases with “fail”
- fail to do sth
- fail a test
- never fail to
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- lose
- flunk
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- succeed
- pass
Word family
- failure
“fail” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- pass verbA2to succeed in a test or exam
- practice nounA2doing something again and again to improve your skill
- act verbA2to do something, especially to deal with a situation
- allow verbA2to give someone permission to do something
- become verbA2to begin to be something
- carry verbA2to hold something and take it with you from one place to another
- catch verbA2to take hold of something that is moving through the air
- conduct verbB2to organize and carry out an activity such as research, a survey or an interview