fail-safe

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He said the boats went “dead in the water” as an automatic fail-safe, which prevented them from causing damage or injury.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

There’s no 100% safe way to lift 500 pounds, just like there is no fail-safe way of throwing 100 mph.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2025

She followed my recommendation to take the DMV’s fail-safe eLearning course on her home computer.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024

The penalty for entering a fail-safe command “with insufficient reason” was prison, fines, but Margery thought the legal system didn’t go far enough.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2024

Upon arrival in the town or reservation, Irwin would trot the horses off the railcars and straight to the nearest back road or bullring, where he would implement a nearly fail-safe betting system.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand