fail

fail to do something; leave something undone; "She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib"; "The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account"

be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"

disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis"

stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"

be unable; "I fail to understand your motives"

judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students"

fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"

fall short in what is expected; "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"

become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"

prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"

get worse; "Her health is declining"