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Failure in continuum media, either solids or liquids, can be regarded as a physical phenomenon
which mathematically can be identified by the fulfilment of a limit condition usually involving the stress state
inside the material. By considering classical failure theories for solids (plasticity and fracture mechanics
approach) and a recent theory on the rupture (cavitation) for liquids, common peculiarities of the failure
conditions for both classes of materials are presented. Finally, by introducing a stress field parameter, the stress
triaxiality t, which can be used to identify the limit condition of collapse for both classes of the considered
materials, some unified considerations on failure of solids and liquids are made. It is shown that the collapse
functions for both classes of continuum materials present a similar form.