fail
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++fail1 /feɪl/ ●●● S2 W1 verb 1 not succeed 没有成功 [intransitive]FAIL to not succeed in achieving something 失败 It looks likely that the peace talks will fail. 看来和平谈判可能会失败。fail in He failed in his attempt to regain the world title. 他未能夺回世界冠军头衔。fail to do something Doctors failed to save the girl’s life. 医生没能救活这个小女孩。 Millions of people have tried to quit smoking and failed miserably (=been completely unsuccessful). 数百万人戒过烟，都以惨败告终。 his efforts to save his failing marriage 他挽救自己濒危婚姻的努力 If all else fails, you may be advised to have an operation. 要是其他方法都不见效的话，恐怕你还是动手术的好。2 not do STH 未做某事 [intransitive]FAIL to not do what is expected, needed, or wanted 未做到fail to do something The letter failed to arrive. 信没有寄到。 Firms that fail to take advantage of the new technology will go out of business. 未能利用新技术的公司会被淘汰。 The government are failing in their duty to protect people. 该政府未能尽到保护人民的责任。 RegisterFail to do something is used mainly in writing and in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say do not do something instead: fail to do something主要用于书面语或正式文章。在日常英语中，人们一般说do not do something The letter failed to arrive. → The letter didn’t arrive. 那封信没寄到。3 exam/test 考试/测验 a) [intransitive, transitive]FAIL to not pass a test or examination 不及格，未能通过 I failed my driving test the first time I took it. 我第一次驾照考试没过关。 He failed maths but passed all his other subjects. 他数学没及格，但是其他科目都通过了。 b) [transitive] to decide that someone has not passed a test or examination 评定〔某人〕不及格 Her work was so bad that I had no choice but to fail her. 她考得太差了，我只能给她不及格。4 I fail to see/understand formalUNDERSTAND used to show that you are annoyed by something that you do not accept or understand 我不明白〔用于表示为不愿接受或不理解的事而生气〕 I fail to see why you find it so amusing. 我不明白你为什么觉得那么好笑。5. company/business 公司/商号 [intransitive]BBC if a company or business fails, it is unable to continue because of a lack of money 倒闭，破产6 machine/body part 机器部件/身体部位 [intransitive]STOP MOVING if a part of a machine or an organ in your body fails, it stops working 〔机件或人体器官〕失灵，丧失功能 The engine failed on take-off. 引擎在起飞过程中失灵了。 The hospital said that his kidneys were failing. 医院说过他的肾脏在逐渐衰竭。7 health 健康MI [intransitive] if your sight, memory, health etc is failing, it is gradually getting weaker or is not as good as it was 〔视力、记忆、健康等〕衰退 Failing eyesight forced him to retire early. 视力衰退迫使他提前退休。8 never fail to do something CERTAINLY/DEFINITELYto do something or happen so regularly that people expect it 从来不会忘记做某事 My grandson never fails to phone me on my birthday. 我的孙儿从来不会忘记在我生日那天打电话给我。9 your courage/will/nerve fails (you) NOT HAVEif your courage etc fails, or if it fails you, you suddenly do not have it when you need it 你的勇气/意志/胆量消失10 fail somebody NOT HAVEto not do what someone has trusted you to do 使某人失望，有负于某人 SYN let somebody down11. crops 庄稼 [intransitive]TAC if crops fail, they do not grow or produce food, for example because of bad weather 歉收12. rains 雨水 [intransitive]DN if the rains (=a lot of rain that falls at a particular time each year) fail, they do not come when expected or it does not rain enough 〔在该下雨的季节〕无雨，不下雨，下雨少 → words fail me at word1(29) THESAURUSfail to not succeed – used about people, plans, methods etc 〔人、计划、方法等〕失败The plan failed. 计划失败了。They failed to persuade her to change her mind. 他们没能说服她改变主意。nThis method never fails.go wrong if something you do goes wrong, it fails after starting well 出问题The experiment went wrong when the chemicals combined to form a poisonous gas. 实验出了问题，化学物质反应生成了一种有毒气体。not work if something does not work, it does not do what you want it to do 不起作用The drugs don’t work. 这些药不见效。I tried to fix it with glue, but that didn’t work. 我试图用胶水来固定它，但没有用。be unsuccessful /ˌʌnsəkˈsesfəl◂/ to not have the result you wanted 不成功His first attempt to get a teaching job was unsuccessful. 他想从事教学工作的初次尝试没有成功。The search was unsuccessful. 搜寻一无所获。be a failure to be unsuccessful, with the result that you have wasted your efforts 失败The government’s 5-year plan to modernize the economy was a complete failure. 该政府旨在实现经济现代化的五年计划完全失败了。backfire if a plan or action backfires, it does the opposite of what it was intended to do 产生事与愿违的结果His plan to get attention backfired, and instead of being promoted he lost his job. 他想抓人眼球的计划产生了反作用，非但没能升职，反而丢了工作。in vain if you try to do something in vain, you fail to do it 徒劳地They tried in vain to save him. 他们想要救他，却是徒然。All her efforts had been in vain. 她的努力都白费了。→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
fail• ''How did you do in accountancy?'' ''I failed''.• In the last ten minutes of the game, one of the television cameras failed.• "How did Chris do in his driving test?" "He failed."• Peace talks between the two countries have failed.• Imprisonment is a harsh measure that should be used only when every other reasonable avenue has failed.• When it came up for a vote in the House, the amendment failed.• Marriages can fail, and divorce is sometimes necessary.• His heart failed and there was nothing we could do to save him.• One of the engines failed at 30,000 feet.• Many of the boys in the program had been failing at school.• If they were trying to put us out of business, they have failed completely.• My attempt to lose weight failed completely.• Across the state, corn crops failed due to the drought.• Jonathan failed his law exams at the end of the year.• If your marriage fails it can be difficult to make a new start in life.• Millions of people have tried to quit smoking and failed miserably.• If I fail my driving test again, I'm going to give up.• I failed my math test.• What he fails to add is that nowadays information is as leaky as a fistful of sand.• I failed to convince him that I was right.• Having failed to find her friend, she decided to return home.• It has failed to maintain the civilization to which he has given his life as a man.• Yet he failed to subvert even his vulnerable neighbour.• Cal and Stanford so far have tried, and failed, to sweep the Washington road trip.• A large number of businesses failed when interest rates rose.• Our plan to go into business failed when the bank refused to lend us enough money.• A very high percentage of small businesses fail within their first year.failed in ... attempt• During the Hayes administration, southerners had failed in their attempt to accomplish repeal by adding riders to appropriation bills.• Read in studio Count Nikolai Tolstoy has failed in his attempt to avoid paying libel damages.• Failed SinnFein failed in an attempt to co-opt him on to the council on Wednesday night.• You have failed in your attempt to convince me of the coincidence between the bourgeois and the human.• The champion jockey failed in his attempt to overturn a five-day suspension awarded for his riding of Silver Wizard.• I am absolutely sure that my friend Jimmy Wall and I failed in our attempt to set a record.• Greene King failed in its attempt to take over Morland; it now owns a 29.32% stake in the Thames Valley brewer.fail to do something• Guinness was accused of bad faith, in particular for failing to adhere to promises made in the official offer documents.• He failed to be sufficiently accountable to the board.• It was also agreed that should either party fail to comply, sanctions would be imposed.• After they failed to find their intended victim, they embarked on an indiscriminate anti-foreigner rampage.• Two of them - who had failed to pay - are run by Mr Cowell.• For a split second, Constance failed to realise that he had released his grip on her.• Some people not only fail to speak up but talk with their hands wandering to cover their mouths.• She is described by the Argive elders as speaking in riddles because they fail to understand her predictions.fail2 noun 1 without fail 2 [countable]SE an unsuccessful result in a test or examination 〔考试〕不及格 OPP passn3 [countable] informal an occasion when someone is not successful or does something badlyExamples from the Corpus
fail• Company failures have led to massive job losses.• Investigators traced the cause of the crash to engine failure.• He believes that if a starter has major-league talent, nothing matters more than taking the ball every five days without fail.• He writes every week without fail.fail3 interjection informal nused for saying that someone has failed or done something badlyFrom Longman Business Dictionaryfailfail /feɪl/ verb1[intransitive]COMMERCE if a business fails, it is not successful and loses so much money that it has to closeThe company failed amid charges that the chairman had stolen $17 million.More than 10,000 companies failed with debts of more than 10 million yen. —failed adjective [only before a noun]the failed Bank of Credit & Commerce International2[intransitive] if something you try to do fails, it is not successfulA move to vote the chairman off the Bell Resources board failed.fail to do somethingA salesman may communicate perfectly well with a customer but fail to make a sale. —failed adjective [only before a noun]The firm collapsed after a failed bid for a rival insurer.3[intransitive] if something fails to happen, it does not happen, although you expected or wanted it tofail to do somethingThe new projects have failed to gain general acceptance from the board.If the recovery fails to cut the deficit sharply, a rise in taxes will be needed.4[intransitive]MANUFACTURING if equipment or a machine fails, it stops working because there is a fault5FARMING [intransitive] if crops fail, they do not grow or produce any foodThe corn harvest failed after a terrible drought.6[intransitive, transitive] to not pass an examination, test or INSPECTIONThe railway line failed its Board of Trade inspection earlier this year.→ See Verb tableOrigin fail1 (1200-1300) Old French faillir, from Latin fallere “to deceive, disappoint”fail1 verb →REGISTER1 →THESAURUS1fail2 nounfail3 interjectionLDOCE OnlineChinese
something in to Corpus succeed not Business achieving
fail
fail1 S2 W1 /feɪl/ 
verb
It looks likely that the peace talks will fail.
fail in
He failed in his attempt to regain the world title.
fail to do something
Doctors failed to save the girl’s life.
Millions of people have tried to quit smoking and failed miserably (=been completely unsuccessful).
his efforts to save his failing marriage
If all else fails , you may be advised to have an operation.
2. NOT DO SOMETHING [intransitive] to not do what is expected, needed, or wanted
fail to do something
The letter failed to arrive.
Firms that fail to take advantage of the new technology will go out of business.
The government are failing in their duty to protect people.
REGISTER
Fail to do something is used mainly in writing and in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say do not do something instead:
▪ The letter failed to arrive. ➔ The letter didn’t arrive.
3. EXAM/TEST
a. [intransitive and transitive] to not pass a test or examination:
I failed my driving test the first time I took it.
He failed maths but passed all his other subjects.
b. [transitive] to decide that someone has not passed a test or examination:
Her work was so bad that I had no choice but to fail her.
4. I fail to see/understand formal used to show that you are annoyed by something that you do not accept or understand:
I fail to see why you find it so amusing.
5. COMPANY/BUSINESS [intransitive] if a company or business fails, it is unable to continue because of a lack of money
6. MACHINE/BODY PART [intransitive] if a part of a machine or an organ in your body fails, it stops working:
The engine failed on take-off.
The hospital said that his kidneys were failing.
7. HEALTH [intransitive] if your sight, memory, health etc is failing, it is gradually getting weaker or is not as good as it was:
Failing eyesight forced him to retire early.
8. never fail to do something to do something or happen so regularly that people expect it:
My grandson never fails to phone me on my birthday.
9. your courage/will/nerve fails (you) if your courage etc fails, or if it fails you, you suddenly do not have it when you need it:
She had to leave immediately, before her courage failed her.
10. fail somebody to not do what someone has trusted you to do
SYN let somebody down:
I feel I’ve failed my children by not spending more time with them.
11. CROPS [intransitive] if crops fail, they do not grow or produce food, for example because of bad weather
12. RAINS [intransitive] if the rains (=a lot of rain that falls at a particular time each year) fail, they do not come when expected or it does not rain enough
⇨ words fail me at word1(28)
▪ fail to not succeed – used about people, plans, methods etc: The plan failed. | They failed to persuade her to change her mind. | This method never fails.
▪go wrong if something you do goes wrong, it fails after starting well: The experiment went wrong when the chemicals combined to form a poisonous gas.
▪not work if something does not work, it does not do what you want it to do: The drugs don’t work. | I tried to fix it with glue, but that didn’t work.
▪be unsuccessful /ˌʌnsəkˈsesfəl◂/ to not have the result you wanted: His first attempt to get a teaching job was unsuccessful. | The search was unsuccessful.
▪be a failure to be unsuccessful, with the result that you have wasted your efforts: The government’s 5-year plan to modernize the economy was a complete failure.
▪backfire if a plan or action backfires, it does the opposite of what it was intended to do: His plan to get attention backfired, and instead of being promoted he lost his job.
▪in vain if you try to do something in vain, you fail to do it: They tried in vain to save him. | All her efforts had been in vain.
fail2 noun
a. if you do something without fail, you always do it:
Tim visits his mother every day without fail.
b. used to tell someone very firmly that they must do something:
I want that work finished by tomorrow, without fail!
2. [countable] an unsuccessful result in a test or examination
OPP pass:
I got a fail in history.
| I |
verb Word Family: noun: fail, failure, failing; adjective: failed, unfailing; verb: fail; adverb: unfaillingly
Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: faillir, from Latin fallere 'to deceive, disappoint'
1. NOT SUCCEED [intransitive] to not succeed in achieving something:Language: Old French
Origin: faillir, from Latin fallere 'to deceive, disappoint'
fail in
fail to do something
2. NOT DO SOMETHING [intransitive] to not do what is expected, needed, or wanted
fail to do something
REGISTER
Fail to do something is used mainly in writing and in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say do not do something instead:
▪ The letter failed to arrive. ➔ The letter didn’t arrive.
3. EXAM/TEST
a. [intransitive and transitive] to not pass a test or examination:
b. [transitive] to decide that someone has not passed a test or examination:
4. I fail to see/understand formal used to show that you are annoyed by something that you do not accept or understand:
5. COMPANY/BUSINESS [intransitive] if a company or business fails, it is unable to continue because of a lack of money
6. MACHINE/BODY PART [intransitive] if a part of a machine or an organ in your body fails, it stops working:
7. HEALTH [intransitive] if your sight, memory, health etc is failing, it is gradually getting weaker or is not as good as it was:
8. never fail to do something to do something or happen so regularly that people expect it:
9. your courage/will/nerve fails (you) if your courage etc fails, or if it fails you, you suddenly do not have it when you need it:
10. fail somebody to not do what someone has trusted you to do
SYN let somebody down:
11. CROPS [intransitive] if crops fail, they do not grow or produce food, for example because of bad weather
12. RAINS [intransitive] if the rains (=a lot of rain that falls at a particular time each year) fail, they do not come when expected or it does not rain enough
⇨ words fail me at word1(28)
| THESAURUS |
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| II |
noun Word Family: noun: fail, failure, failing; adjective: failed, unfailing; verb: fail; adverb: unfaillingly
1. without faila. if you do something without fail, you always do it:
b. used to tell someone very firmly that they must do something:
2. [countable] an unsuccessful result in a test or examination
OPP pass:
