› [C or U] a situation in which a company has been unsuccessful and has to stop operating: The number and seriousness of the bank failures took economists by surprise. We're finally seeing a slowdown in the rate of business failures. → See also audit failure, market failure › [U] lack of success in trying to do something: If you're too scared of failure, you'll never try to achieve anything. › [U] a situation in which a machine or system stops working: The cause of the crash is now thought to be engine failure. › [C] someone or something that is not successful: He always thought of himself as a failure. failure to do sth › a situation in which someone does not do something they should do or are expected to do: The banks' failure to regulate more reckless lending led directly to the financial crisis.