事败垂成 shìbàichuíchéng to fail on the verge of success Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 事 shì noun matter matter; affair; thing; event败 敗 bài verb to be defeated to lose a war, competition, or game; to fail at a task垂成 chuíchéng to approach completion (literary) to draw close to a successful conclusion; to be approaching success or completion