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fail

verb

Fail commonly means to fail to do something; leave something undone, stop operating or functioning, or be unsuccessful.

11 meanings4 lettersScrabble 7

Length

4

Scrabble

7

WWF

8

Starts

FA

Ends

AIL

Difficulty

Easy

Dictionary

What Does “FAIL” Mean?

fail has 11 documented senses across verb.

Verb

11 senses
1

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

Synonyms

2

be unsuccessful

Where do today's public schools fail?

The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably

Synonyms

3

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

Synonyms

4

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

Synonyms

5

be unable

I fail to understand your motives

6

judge unacceptable

The teacher failed six students

Show 5 more verb definitions
7

fail to get a passing grade

She studied hard but failed nevertheless

Did I fail the test?

Synonyms

8

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

9

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

10

prove insufficient

The water supply for the town failed after a long drought

11

deteriorate

Her health is declining

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

4

Vowels

2

Consonants

2

Word Intelligence

Explore the word fail with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

fail to do something; leave something undone

Length

4 letters

Starts With

F

Ends With

L

Vowels

2

Consonants

2

Letters

F, A, I, L

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

f
a
i
l

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for fail.

FAIL is a 4-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 7.
It starts with F and ends with L.
It contains 2 vowels and 2 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 50%.
It is an isogram, meaning no letter repeats.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCD.
Vowel/consonant pattern: CVVC.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using fail in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★★☆☆

FAIL has a Scrabble score of 7. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★☆☆☆

FAIL is not five letters, so it is not a standard Wordle answer, but its letter pattern can still help with word analysis.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

FAIL can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 4-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★★☆

FAIL uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside fail.

Unique Letters

4

Repeated Letters

0

Highest Value Letter

F

Letter Pattern

ABCD

CV Pattern

CVVC

Vowel Share

50%

Consonant Share

50%

Bigrams

FA, AI, IL

Trigrams

FAI, AIL

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for fail.

FAIL is a 4-letter short fill.
It starts with F and ends with L, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 2 vowels and 2 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is CVVC.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Easy.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 4 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is CVVC, making it relatively easy to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 7, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with F and ends with L, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Every letter appears only once.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to FAIL by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with fail.

Related Word Tools

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