fail-safe

Thân thiện

A fail-safe mechanism prevents the machine from overheating.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Designed to eliminate danger by compensating automatically for a failure or malfunction: A "fail-safe" system or device is built to automatically prevent a dangerous situation if something goes wrong.
   • Guaranteed not to fail; foolproof: In a more general sense, "fail-safe" can describe a plan or method that is considered certain to succeed.

2. Noun:

   • A mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case of failure: A "fail-safe" is the specific feature or system that provides this automatic safety.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The elevator has a fail-safe brake that engages if the cable snaps.
  • For a fail-safe party dessert, I always make chocolate mousse.
• Noun:
  • The reactor's primary fail-safe is a set of control rods that drop into the core to stop the reaction.

Advanced Usage

• Used as a verb (less common): To design or equip something with fail-safe features.
  • The engineers fail-safed the new design with multiple backup systems.

Variants and Related Words

• Fail-safe (as a hyphenated compound): The standard form when used as an adjective or noun before another noun (e.g., a fail-safe mechanism).
• Failsafe (as a single word): An accepted variant spelling, especially in technical contexts.
• Failsafing (n): The process of making something fail-safe.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Foolproof, infallible, reliable, secure, guaranteed.
• Noun: Safety mechanism, backup, safeguard, precaution.

Related Phrases

• Fail-safe design: An engineering philosophy where the default state of a system in the event of a failure is a safe one.
• Fail-safe position: The specific state (like "off" or "locked") a device assumes when it fails.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. 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
2. guaranteed not to fail
   • a fail-safe recipe for cheese souffle

Noun

1. a mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction