ALL meanings of without fail
with·out fail
W w - adverb without fail invariably 1
- adverb without fail for certain 1
- verb without object without fail to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved: The experiment failed because of poor planning. 1
- verb without object without fail to receive less than the passing grade or mark in an examination, class, or course of study: He failed in history. 1
- verb without object without fail to be or become deficient or lacking; be insufficient or absent; fall short: Our supplies failed. 1
- verb without object without fail to dwindle, pass, or die away: The flowers failed for lack of rain. 1
- verb without object without fail to lose strength or vigor; become weak: His health failed after the operation. 1
- verb without object without fail to become unable to meet or pay debts or business obligations; become insolvent or bankrupt. 1
- verb without object without fail (of a building member, structure, machine part, etc.) to break, bend, crush, or be otherwise destroyed or made useless because of an excessive load. 1
- verb without object without fail to stop functioning or operating: The electricity failed during the storm. 1
- verb without object without fail Slang. to make an embarrassing or humorous mistake, be in a humiliating situation, etc., and be subject to ridicule: Showed up late to the wedding? You fail! to be embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc.: She fails at life. I just failed at walking and fell on my face. to be bad or of inferior quality: The play is terrible—even the music fails. 1
- verb with object without fail to be unsuccessful in the performance or completion of: He failed to do his duty. 1
- verb with object without fail (of some expected or usual resource) to prove of no use or help to: His friends failed him. Words failed her. 1
- verb with object without fail to receive less than a passing grade or mark in: He failed history. 1
- verb with object without fail to declare (a person) unsuccessful in a test, course of study, etc.; give less than a passing grade to: The professor failed him in history. 1
- noun without fail Slang. an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., that is subject to ridicule and given an exaggerated importance: Their app update is a massive fail. the condition or quality resulting from having failed in this way: His online post is full of fail. a person who fails in this way. 1
- noun without fail Stock Exchange. a stockbroker's inability to deliver or receive security within the required time after sale or purchase. such an undelivered security. 1
- noun without fail Obsolete. failure as to performance, occurrence, etc. 1
- adjective without fail unsuccessful; failed: a totally fail policy. 1
- adjective without fail Slang. of or noting an embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc.: the top 100 funniest fail photos on the Internet. embarrassingly incompetent, stupid, etc: Why am I so fail? very bad or of inferior quality. 1
- idioms without fail without fail, with certainty; positively: I will visit you tomorrow without fail. 1
- adverb without fail (Idiomatic) certainly; by all means; as a matter of importance. 0
- phrase without fail You use without fail to emphasize that something always happens. 0
- phrase without fail You use without fail to emphasize an order or a promise. 0
- noun without fail definitely; with certainty 0