Definition of "malfunction" []

• To fail to function. (verb-intransitive)
• To function improperly. (verb-intransitive)
• Failure to function. (noun)
• Faulty or abnormal functioning. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The cause of the malfunction is under investigation, she said."
• "The reason for the character malfunction is probably that we've used up the yearly quota of the letter Å with our frivolous mangling of the English language to better suit the spirit of Åcon."
• "The reason for the malfunction is to the man's brand new 2400 baud modem (!) is suitably humorous as well, and not the giveaway it is in other collections in which this story appears."