compound failure

USAGE SUMMARY

"compound failure" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a situation or outcome which results from multiple causes or conditions failing all at once. For example, "The entire project was doomed from the start due to a compound failure of inadequate planning, lack of resources, and bad weather."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

On Sunday the — your — your — secretary — or — As usually happens in these debate "moments," Romney's meltdown was a compound failure.

The New Yorker

The compound failure mode, the inertia force of the blocks, and the connection stiffness and strength relative to the large dynamic earth pressure, were among major items that would warrant further design consideration.

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

In the current version of the model, internal forces are neglected, so the model should not be used to simulate strongly compound failures.

Geoenvironmental Disasters

Landslides, including shallow soil slides and debris flows, deep-seated rotational and translational slides, and complex and compound failures, are abundant, and caused primarily by rainfall (Goswami et al. 2011).

Environmental Management

Still, both men agreed with several other network programmers that the sudden onslaught of patience was a welcome development in a business where failure compounding failure had been raised to a high art.

The New York Times

His department is working on plans to keep all young people in education or training until 18, in what would be the first increase in the compulsory-schooling age since it went up from 15 to 16 in 1973.Critics say that extending compulsory education would simply be compounding failure.

The Economist

The roots of these days of rage, whether in Ferguson or North Charleston or Baltimore, reach down through decades of compounded failures.

The Washington Post

Compounding failures to record, classify and keep track of migrant parents and children pulled apart by President Trump's "zero tolerance" border crackdown were at the core of what is now widely regarded as one of the biggest debacles of his presidency.

The Washington Post

The proposed system, on the other hand, takes advantage of the NoC architecture and follows the compound-failure model [25], where all components (PEs) from the same set of PEs must fail in order for the entire system to fail.

EURASIP Journal on Embedded Systems

But the compound's failure to kill the lung cells offers little insurance that it won't make people sick.

MIT Technology Review

Throughout the briefing, Mr. Moynihan and Dr. Allen, the Commissioner of Education, stressed the belief that al though the education system had worked well for the mass of Americans, it had failed the poor, and that increasink funds for existing compensatory pro grams would only compound this failure.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "compound failure", ensure that the contributing factors are clearly identified or implied within the context. This provides a more comprehensive understanding of the situation and avoids ambiguity.

Common error

Avoid using "compound failure" when a single, primary cause is evident. Reserve it for scenarios where multiple independent factors demonstrably contribute to the negative outcome.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "compound failure" primarily functions as a noun phrase, often serving as the subject or object of a sentence. It identifies a specific type of failure resulting from multiple contributing causes. Ludwig examples show its use in both news and scientific contexts.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "compound failure" is a noun phrase used to describe a failure resulting from multiple contributing factors. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness and usability. Although relatively rare, as shown by Ludwig's examples, it's appropriate for both news and scientific contexts. To enhance clarity, consider explicitly stating the contributing elements. While "systemic collapse" and "cascading failure" are viable alternatives, the specificity of "compound failure" lies in highlighting the convergence of several distinct failures. When using the phrase, prioritize detailing the multiple factors to avoid ambiguity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

cascading failure

Highlights how one failure leads to a series of others.

systemic collapse

Emphasizes the failure of an entire system rather than individual components.

complex system failure

Highlights the involvement of a complex system in the failure.

multifaceted breakdown

Focuses on the multiple elements contributing to the breakdown.

integrated failure

Implies that the failures are interconnected and influence each other.

combined malfunction

Stresses the concurrent nature of multiple malfunctions.

multiple point failure

Emphasizes that the failure comes from various distinct points.

convergence of errors

Stresses how different errors have come together to produce a critical failure.

series of malfunctions

Highlights the consecutive nature of multiple malfunctions.

accumulation of setbacks

Focuses on the setbacks aggregating over time.

FAQs

How can I use "compound failure" in a sentence?

You can use "compound failure" to describe situations where multiple factors contribute to a negative outcome. For example: "The project's collapse was due to a "compound failure" of planning, resource allocation, and execution."

What are some alternatives to saying "compound failure"?

Alternatives include "systemic collapse", "cascading failure", or "multifaceted breakdown", depending on the specific context you want to convey.

Is "compound failure" a formal or informal term?

"Compound failure" can be used in both formal and informal contexts, though it is more commonly found in technical, scientific, or news reporting due to its descriptive nature.

What does "compound failure" mean in the context of engineering?

In engineering, "compound failure" often refers to a failure mode resulting from multiple interacting factors, such as material defects, design flaws, and environmental stressors.