fail-safe

fail-safe

or fail·safe (fāl′sāf′)

adj.

1. Capable of compensating automatically and safely for a failure, as of a mechanism or power source.

2. Acting to discontinue a military attack on the occurrence of any of various predetermined conditions.

3. Guaranteed not to fail: "There is no fail-safe mechanism guaranteed either to contain or to restore presidential authority" (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.).

n.

A fail-safe mechanism.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fail-safe

adj

1. (General Engineering) designed to return to a safe condition in the event of a failure or malfunction

2. (Military) (of a nuclear weapon) capable of being deactivated in the event of a failure or accident

3. unlikely to fail; foolproof

vb

(intr) to return to a safe condition in the event of a failure or malfunction

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fail′-safe`

adj.

1. equipped with a secondary system that ensures continued operation even if the primary system fails.

2. denoting a system of safeguards in which bombers may not proceed past a prearranged point or nuclear weapons may not be armed without direct orders.

3. guaranteed to work; totally reliable.

n.

4. a fail-safe mechanism, system, or the like.

[1945–50]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

fail-safe

Past participle: fail-safed
Gerund: fail-safing

Imperative

fail-safe

fail-safe

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	fail-safe - a mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction mechanism - device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function
Adj.	1.	fail-safe - guaranteed not to fail; "a fail-safe recipe for cheese souffle" secure - free from danger or risk; "secure from harm"; "his fortune was secure"; "made a secure place for himself in his field"
	2.	fail-safe - eliminating danger by compensating automatically for a failure or malfunction; "a fail-safe device in a nuclear weapon to deactivate it automatically in the event of accident" safe - free from danger or the risk of harm; "a safe trip"; "you will be safe here"; "a safe place"; "a safe bet"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

fail-safe

adjective

Designed so as to be impervious to human error or misuse:

foolproof.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

fail-safe

[ˈfeɪlseɪf] ADJ [device] → de seguridad, a prueba de fallos; [method] → infalible

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fail-safe

adj → (ab)gesichert; method → hundertprozentig sicher; mechanism, system → störungssicher

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007