critical failure

American  

[krit-i-kuhl feyl-yer] / ˈkrɪt ɪ kəl ˈfeɪl yər /

noun

1. a movie, song, or the like that is received very unfavorably by professional critics.

   The director’s new film is a modest rebound from the commercial and critical failure of the previous one.

2. a malfunction of a piece of equipment, program, etc., that halts or severely impairs its operation.

   We need an overhaul of security protocols to avoid another critical failure of the system.

   Engineers analyzed the root causes of these critical failures of the machinery so as to address them with improved design.

3. null critical miss, critical fail (in role-playing games) a move that harms the player who made it or does not inflict the intended damage on an opponent, usually due to a particularly low roll of the die or dice.

   Rolling a one is a critical failure.

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Etymology

Origin of critical failure

First recorded in 1950–55 critical failure for def. 1; 1965–70 critical failure for def. 2; 2000–05 critical failure for def. 3

Example Sentences

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been grounded in Switzerland after his plane had a "critical failure" due to an oxygen leak, officials said.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2024

“It’s probably the single most critical failure of development in the past 30 years,” says Philip Setel, a medical and demographic anthropologist who directs the civil-registration initiative at Vital Strategies.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2023

I want to provide a solution to the impending critical failure in public data.

From Salon • Sep. 27, 2020

Judge Joseph Spero determined that was a critical failure in the lead up to Steinle’s death and dismissed the claims against all the defendants except the BLM.

From Washington Post • Jan. 5, 2018

The Pathfinder mission ended because the lander had an unknown critical failure.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir