Cambridge Dictionaries online Cambridge Dictionaries online

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English

  

failure

 
 
/ˈfeɪljər/ noun

Definition

[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.
(Definition of failure noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“failure” in other dictionaries

Word of the Day

rain on sb's parade

to do something that spoils someone's plans

Word of the Day

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.

Learn More