fail-safe

adj, noun, verb — 5 senses

fail-safe

adj

/ˈfeɪlˌseɪf/

1

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

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

2

Designed to shut off for safety if an emergency occurs.

All equipment is, of course, of "fail-safe" pattern.1961 February, “Talking of Trains: Automated trains in New York”, in Trains Illustrated, page 78:

Related terms: fault-tolerant, foolproof, guardrail
Coordinate terms: fail-deadly, failsoft

fail-safe

noun

1

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

fail-safe

verb

1

To compensate automatically, in the event of a failure.

2

To make a device or mechanism fail-safe, or to add a fail-safe device or mechanism to an existing system.

Related terms: foolproof

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.