“power failure” 指“停电;电力中断”,即供电系统暂时或突然停止供电。(在更广义语境中也可指“动力/能量失效”,但最常见是电力中断。)
/ˈpaʊər ˌfeɪljər/
A power failure left the building in darkness.
停电使整栋大楼陷入黑暗。
Due to a power failure, the hospital switched to emergency generators while staff worked to keep critical equipment running.
由于电力中断,医院切换到应急发电机,工作人员努力维持关键设备运转。
“power” 源自拉丁语 potere(“能够”)相关词根,经法语进入英语,常指“力量/权力/电力”等;“failure” 来自法语 faillir(“失败、未能做到”)。两者组合成短语 “power failure”,字面义为“电力的失败/未能供给”,引申为“停电、断电”。