falhar

Senses

1. 1.

   to fail

   to not succeed in accomplishing something; to be unsuccessful

2. 2.

   to malfunction, to fail

   to stop working properly (machines, systems, organs)

3. 3.

   to miss, to fail

   to not hit a target or achieve an objective

Examples

• "O plano falhou e tivemos que recomeçar do zero."

  The plan failed and we had to start from scratch.

• "Os freios do carro falharam na descida."

  The car's brakes failed on the way down.

• "Ele falhou na cobrança do pênalti."

  He missed the penalty kick.

Usage

Regular -ar verb. Common collocations include "falhar em" (to fail at/in) and "falhar com alguém" (to let someone down, to fail someone). Often interchangeable with "fracassar" for plans/attempts, but "falhar" is preferred for mechanical/technical failures.