Failure

Description

The inability of a structure, object, or material to maintain its original or expected properties. Failure may occur by numerous pathways such as collapse, rupture, adhesion loss, color loss, and delamination.

Authority

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998