adj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A device, mechanism or measure designed to make something fail-safe.
2. 2
   a mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To compensate automatically, in the event of a failure.
2. 2
   To make a device or mechanism fail-safe, or to add a fail-safe device or mechanism to an existing system.

Adjective

1. 1
   That does not cause undue damage in the event of failure.

   "The system is failsafe, because everything is backed up automatically."

2. 2
   Designed to shut off for safety if an emergency occurs.

   "All equipment is, of course, of "fail-safe" pattern."

Adjective

1. 1
   eliminating danger by compensating automatically for a failure or malfunction wordnet
2. 2
   guaranteed not to fail wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

dependablefirmguaranteedharmlessinvulnerablereliable

Example

More examples

"The system is failsafe, because everything is backed up automatically."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.