Failure: The Event, the Person, and the Organ
Failure is the fact of not succeeding. Medicine and engineering use it precisely: a part or an organ that no longer does its job.
Failure is a lack of success, but the word does more work than that. In engineering it names a part that has stopped performing; in medicine, heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped, only that it cannot pump as well as the body needs. Both keep the original meaning: something has fallen short.
- Lack of success. *The plan ended in failure.*
- Someone or something unsuccessful. *The film was a failure.*
- The stopping of a function. *Engine failure.*
- Failure to do something — not doing what is required. *Failure to appear in court.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | failure | A total failure. |
| Plural | failures | Repeated failures. |
| Verb | fail | It failed twice. |
| Adjective | failed | A failed attempt. |
| Adjective | failing | Failing eyesight. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The failure of the brakes caused the crash.Failure of names the part.
- Failure to pay may result in a fine.Failure to is the legal formula.
- He was treated for kidney failure.The organ works badly, not necessarily not at all.
Kinds of failure
- Mistake — a wrong choice or action
- Error — a deviation from what is correct
- Fault — a defect, or responsibility for one
- Failure — the outcome: it did not work
- Setback — a failure treated as temporary
From Anglo-French *failer*, to be lacking, from Latin *fallere*, to deceive or disappoint — the same root as *false* and *fault*. The idea of falling short, rather than falling down, is the older one.
Does heart failure mean the heart has stopped?
No. It means the heart cannot pump enough blood for the body's needs. A stopped heart is cardiac arrest.
Failure or fail as a noun?
Failure is standard. Fail as a noun is informal and mostly online, as in an epic fail.