Man's failure, to a point (4)
I believe the answer is:
dude
'man's' is the definition.
(dude is a kind of man)
'failure to a point' is the wordplay.
'failure' becomes 'dud' (dud is a kind of failure).
'to a point' becomes 'e' (compass point).
'dud'+'e'='DUDE'
(Other definitions for dude that I've seen before include "City slicker" , "Stylish chap" , "Stylish and affected man" , "Level" , "(Cool) chap?" .)