fail-safe

English

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fail-safe

/ˈfeɪlˌseɪf/

adjective

That does not cause undue damage in the event of failure. The system is failsafe, because everything is backed up automatically.
Designed to shut off for safety if an emergency occurs. All equipment is, of course, of "fail-safe" pattern.

noun fail-safes

A device, mechanism or measure designed to make something fail-safe.

verb fail-safes · fail-safing · fail-safed · fail safe

To compensate automatically, in the event of a failure.
To make a device or mechanism fail-safe, or to add a fail-safe device or mechanism to an existing system.

Translations

Every language

noun device or mechanism

日本語	フェイルセーフ feirusēfu
Français	mode dégradé

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MLA

"fail-safe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fail-safe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fail-safe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fail-safe

Chicago

"fail-safe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fail-safe.

BibTeX

@misc{fail_safe_2026,
  title = {fail-safe},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fail-safe},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}