fail

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈfeɪl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/feɪl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(fāl)

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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Principal Translations
InglésEspañol
fail⇒ vi (not succeed)fracasar⇒ vi
  fallar⇒ vtr
 The plan failed because they ran out of money.
 El plan fracasó porque se quedaron sin dinero.
fail to do [sth] vi + prep (not succeed in doing [sth])no poder, no lograr loc verb
  no adv
 They failed to deliver the package in time.
 No pudieron entregar el paquete a tiempo.
 No entregaron el paquete a tiempo.
fail to do [sth] vi + prep (omit, neglect)no adv
  omitir⇒ vi
 The directions failed to mention that the road was closed.
 Las indicaciones no mencionaron que la calle estaba cerrada.
fail vi (not pass an exam) (AmL)reprobar⇒ vi
  (ES)suspender⇒ vi
 The teacher told Marge that she would fail if she didn't study harder.
 La profesora de Marge le dijo que iba a reprobar si no estudiaba más.
fail [sth]⇒ vtr (not pass) (AmL)reprobar⇒ vtr
  (ES)suspender⇒ vtr
  (CO)perder⇒ vtr
 Bobby failed the exam.
 Sarah was failing math so her parents got her a tutor.
 Bobby reprobó el examen.
fail [sb]⇒ vtr (disappoint)fallarle a v prnl + prep
 The employee failed his manager by not finishing the report on time.
 El empleado le falló a su gerente al no terminar el reporte a tiempo.
fail n informal (failure, mistake)fracaso nm
  fiasco nm
  error nm
 The soup I made was definitely a fail because it just didn't taste right.
 La sopa que cociné fue todo un fracaso porque no tenía buen sabor.
  Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.
Additional Translations
InglésEspañol
fail n (rejection in a test)reprobado, suspenso nm
 He did very badly in his biology test, and was given a fail.
 Le fue muy mal en el examen de biología, se sacó un reprobado.
fail⇒ vi (lose strength)fallar⇒ vi
 Karen's strength was failing after running for ten kilometres.
 My grandfather is very old now and starting to fail.
 La fuerza de Karen estaba fallando después de haber corrido diez kilómetros.
fail vi (stop functioning)fallar⇒ vi
 The machine failed around four pm.
 La máquina falló alrededor de las cuatro de la tarde.
fail vi (go bankrupt)quebrar⇒ vi
 The typewriter company failed when people started using computers.
 La empresa de maquinillas quebró cuando las personas comenzaron a utilizar computadoras.
fail vi (run out, be exhausted)agotarse⇒ v prnl
  acabarse⇒ v prnl
 The expedition's supplies were failing and they turned back.
 Las provisiones de la expedición se estaban agotando y tuvieron que volver.
fail [sth]⇒ vtr (reject)rechazar⇒ vtr
 The quality inspector failed the parts that were defective.
 El inspector de calidad rechazó las piezas que estaban defectuosas.
fail [sb]⇒ vtr (give student poor mark)no aprobar a loc verb + prep
  (AR, PE)desaprobar a vtr + prep
  (ES)suspender a vtr + prep
  (MX)reprobar a vtr + prep
 The examiner failed me because I didn't check my mirror before pulling out.
 El examinador no me aprobó porque no miré el retrovisor antes de salir.
  Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Compound Forms:
InglésEspañol
doomed to failure,
doomed to fail adj		 (destined not to succeed)condenado al fracaso loc adj
  destinado al fracaso loc adj
 The plan was so unrealistic, it was doomed to failure.
 El plan era tan irreal que estaba condenado al fracaso.
epic fail n slang (failure, bad mistake)fracaso épico loc nom m
fail to comply with [sth] v expr (not obey [sth])desobedecer⇒ vtr
 If you fail to comply with local building codes, you could be fined.
 Si desobedeces el código edilicio local pueden multarte.
  incumplir⇒ vtr
 Si incumples el código edilicio local pueden multarte.
  infringir⇒ vtr
 Si infringes el código edilicio local pueden multarte.
  desacatar⇒ vtr
  no acatar adv + vtr
 Si desacatas el código edilicio local pueden multarte.
fail-safe n (backup plan)respaldo nm
  plan de respaldo nm + loc adj
fail-safe adj (equipped with a backup system)protegido participio
  respaldado participio
  resguardado participio
narrow fail n (exam grade just below a pass) (AR)nota casi de eximición loc nom f
 That was such a narrow fail, you only needed two more points to pass.
 Eso fue una nota casi de eximición, sólo necesitabas dos puntos más para aprobar.
without fail adv (invariably)sin falta loc adv
  sin excepción loc adv
  infaliblemente adv
 Our mail's delivered at 11:30 each morning without fail.
 When we go out to eat, without fail Robert orders a steak.
 El correo siempre llega a las 11.30 de la mañana sin falta.
without fail adv (for certain)sin falta loc adv
 Promise me you'll be home by midnight without fail.
 Tienes que estar en casa a las doce sin falta.
  Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

'fail' aparece también en las siguientes entradas:
In the English description:
anticipatory breach of contract - beat the air - bet - bite the dust - blow it - bomb - bottle - bottle it - break - choke - cock up - come to naught - come to nothing - come unstuck - conk out - cook your goose - crap out - crash - cut off at the knees - default - disappoint - do nothing - doom to failure - draw a blank - drop the ball - fall back - fall behind - fall between two stools - fall down - fall flat - fallibility - falter - fizzle out - flake out - flatline - flub - flunk - flunk out - fold - foolproof - founder - get confused - give out - go belly up - go blank - go down like a lead balloon - go down the pan - go out of business - go south - go to the devil
Spanish:
aplazar - catear - crepar - desaprobar - encallar - escollar - estrellar - fracasar - perder - reprobar - revolcar - suspender - cepillar - descompaginar - marrar - quebrar - tronar - cate - colgar - insuficiente - suspenso - traicionar - venirse a tierra - malograr - a prueba de - a prueba de fallos - cateo - dejarse en el tintero - desconsiderar - escapar - falibilidad - fallar - fallar las piernas - fallarle a alguien - incomparecer - incumplir - indefectiblemente - infalible - mañana mismo - naufragar - prevaricar - sin falta - suspender la asignatura - zozobrar

Collocations: fail the [exam, class], slang: epic fail, a fail grade, more...

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See Google Translate's machine translation of 'fail'.

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