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to a fault

Idioms  

  1. Excessively, extremely, as in He was generous to a fault. This phrase, always qualifying an adjective, has been so used since the mid-1700s. Indeed, Oliver Goldsmith had this precise usage in The Life of Richard Nash (1762).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ms. Findlay’s direction is patient to a fault.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

You are, almost to a fault, the caretaker of your loved ones.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 17, 2026

The market took him at his word, perhaps to a fault.

From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025

I am a comedian at heart, so sometimes I’m loyal to the joke to a fault.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

The Mamani I knew was incredibly independent and stubborn to a fault.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.