Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - failure

~ n 1 »LACK OF SUCCESS« a lack of success in achieving or doing something  (How can we account for the failure of the League of Nations to achieve peace in Europe? | end/result in failure)  (Harry's ambitious plans ended in failure.) 2 »UNSUCCESSFUL PERSON/THING« someone or something that is not successful  (I always felt a bit of a failure at school. | a total/complete failure)  (The whole thing was a total failure from start to finish. | crop failure)  (a series of crop failures) 3 failure to do sth an act of not doing something which should be done or which people expect you to do  (Failure to produce proof of identity could result in prosecution.) 4 »MACHINE/BODY PART« an occasion when a machine or part of your body stops working properly  (engine failure) + in  (a failure in the computer system caused by a mechanical fault) heart/kidney/liver failure  (The disease can result in terminal kidney failure.) 5 »BUSINESS« a situation in which a business has to close because of a lack of money  (The number of small business failures is growing each year.)