1. Guaranteed not to fail
   "a fail-safe recipe for cheese soufflé"
    
2. 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"

1. A mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction
   "The nuclear reactor was equipped with multiple fail-safes"

Derived forms: fail-safes

See also: safe, secure

Type of: mechanism

Encyclopedia: Fail-safe