fail
verb (NOT SUCCEED) /feɪl/Definition
B2 [I] to not succeed in what you are trying to achieve or are expected to do: She moved to London in the hope of finding work as a model, but failed. This method of growing tomatoes never fails. He failed in his attempt to break the record. [+ to infinitive] She failed to reach the Wimbledon Final this year. The reluctance of either side to compromise means that the talks are doomed to (= will certainly) fail.Failing and doing badly if all else fails › if none of our plans succeed: If all else fails, we can always spend the holidays at home.Failing and doing badly
(Definition of fail verb (NOT SUCCEED) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Failing and doing badly, but you might be interested in these topics from the Doing and achieving topic area:
- Abstaining and refraining
- Acting and acts
- Avoiding action
- Becoming better
- Cancelling and interrupting
- Competing and contending (non-sporting)
- Coping and not coping
- Delaying and wasting time
- Describing the leading position
- Efficient and effective
- Expressions telling people to hurry up
- Failures
- Getting involved for one's own benefit or against others' will
- Hesitating
- Higher and lower points of achievement
- Hurrying and doing things quickly
- Making progress and advancing
- Making things better
- Performing a function
- Potential
- Reacting and responding
- Repeating an action
- Succeeding, achieving and fulfilling
- Success and achievements
- Successful (things or people)
- Surpassing in quality or number
- Taking part and getting involved
- Trying and making an effort
- Unsuccessful (people and things)
- Waiting
- Ways of achieving things
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More Results for “fail”
SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- backfire verb (BAD RESULT)
- be running on empty idiom
- beta male noun
- blow it idiom
- bodge noun, verb
- boomerang verb
- botch verb
- come to sth phrasal verb (REACH)
- flog a dead horse idiom
- flop verb (FAIL)
- fluff verb
- flunk out phrasal verb
- fray around/at the edges idiom
- fumble verb (SPORT)
- misfire verb (PLAN)
- miss verb (NOT HIT)
- muff verb
- neglect verb
- not last long idiom
- overreach verb
Topic:
Failing and doing badly
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gesticulate
to make movements with your hands or arms, to express something or to emphasize what you are saying
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