A breakout fails when the price moves above a resistance level but cannot sustain the momentum and quickly falls back below that level, trapping buyers who entered expecting a strong upward move. This usually happens due to weak buying volume, strong selling pressure near resistance, or when large market participants create a false move to trigger stop losses and liquidity. In such cases, the breakout turns into a fake breakout, and the price often reverses or moves sideways until a strong demand or supply imbalance appears.