Engineering Failures

noun a collapse or fall in of a structure or natural formation, typically caused by external pressure or force

verb to collapse or fall in, especially due to external pressure or force

• The structural engineer warned that heavy rainfall could cause a cave in on the construction site.
• I heard that the old mine shaft might cave in if they don't reinforce it soon.
• Dude, if you keep eating junk food, your stomach is gonna cave in!
• Under pressure from the media, the politician finally caved in and admitted to the scandal.

verb to fail to be completed or successful

preposition through - indicating movement from one side or end to another

• The contract may fall through if both parties do not agree on the terms.
• I hope our plans don't fall through because of the weather.
• I heard their deal fell through at the last minute.
• When all else fails, don't let your dreams fall through.

noun a mistake or error

verb to make a mistake or error

adjective having made a mistake or error

adverb in a mistaken or erroneous manner

• The technician accidentally fouled up the wiring, causing a short circuit.
• I really hope I don't foul up the presentation tomorrow.
• Don't foul up this opportunity by being late.
• His decision to lie ended up fouling up his reputation.

adjective broken or not functioning properly; out of order

• The machine is kaput and needs to be repaired immediately.
• My phone is kaput, I dropped it in water.
• His car is totally kaput, it won't start at all.
• After the breakup, his heart felt kaput and he couldn't function properly.

noun a faulty construction or structure

• The misconstruction of the law led to a lengthy court battle.
• There was a misconstruction of the instructions, so we had to redo the project.
• The misconstruction of the plan totally messed things up.
• Her misconstruction of his intentions caused unnecessary drama.

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, in this case, 'overloaded' describes a noun or pronoun as having too much weight or too many things

• The circuit board became overloaded with too much data, causing it to malfunction.
• I can't handle all these assignments, I feel so overloaded.
• My brain is totally overloaded right now, I need a break.
• Her schedule was so overloaded with commitments that she barely had time to breathe.

noun A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. In this case, 'ruptured' can also be used as a noun to refer to something that has burst or broken open.

verb A word that expresses an action or state of being. In this case, 'ruptured' is the past tense form of the verb 'rupture', meaning to break or burst open.

adjective A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. In this case, 'ruptured' describes something that has burst or broken open.

• The patient suffered a ruptured appendix and required immediate surgery.
• I heard that John's tire ruptured on the highway yesterday.
• My phone battery just ruptured, now I can't use it.
• The scandal ruptured their friendship beyond repair.

noun a mistake or error

verb to make a mistake or mess up

adverb in a manner that results in a mistake or error

• It is important to double check your work to avoid any potential screw up.
• I really hope I don't screw up this presentation tomorrow.
• I always manage to screw up when I'm under pressure.
• Life is like a puzzle, one wrong move can really screw up everything.

noun a word that functions as the name of a specific person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

• The document accidentally slipped out of the envelope during transit.
• I saw the note slip out of your pocket when you sat down.
• I can't believe she let that secret slip out of her mouth.
• Don't let your dreams slip out of your grasp, keep working towards them.

adjective describes a noun as happening quickly and unexpectedly

adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb to describe how something is done

• The sudden change in weather caught everyone by surprise.
• Out of nowhere, there was a sudden downpour.
• I was just chilling and then bam, sudden drama.
• Her sudden burst of laughter filled the room with joy.

adjective not planned or intended; accidental or unintentional

• The architect claimed that the unique shape of the building was completely undesigned.
• I accidentally created an undesigned mess in my room when I was looking for something.
• I hate when my plans end up all undesigned and chaotic.
• Her speech was undesigned but it resonated with the audience in a powerful way.

noun a geological feature characterized by a steep, downslope face

• The slip face of the dune is constantly changing due to the wind patterns.
• Watch out for the steep slip face when climbing up the sand dune.
• I nearly wiped out trying to ski down the slip face of the mountain.
• She felt like she was on the slip face of a steep slope, trying to keep up with her workload.

adjective describing the condition of the top storey as not strong or stable

preposition showing the relationship between 'weak' and 'in the top storey'

• The structural engineer noted that the building was weak in the top storey.
• The top floor of the building is a bit shaky, according to the architect.
• The highest level of the building is kind of flimsy, if you ask me.
• The uppermost part of the tower seemed fragile, like a house of cards.

noun a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

pronoun a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse

preposition a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause

• It is important to secure the ship properly to prevent it from slipping its moorings during a storm.
• Make sure to tie up the boat tightly so it doesn't slip its moorings.
• Don't let the boat drift away, make sure it's tied up so it doesn't lose its moorings.
• When facing challenges, it's easy to slip your emotional moorings and feel lost.