fault

[ fawlt ]

See synonyms for fault on Thesaurus.com

noun

a defect or imperfection; flaw; failing: a fault in the brakes;a fault in one's character.
responsibility for failure or a wrongful act: It is my fault that we have not finished.

an error or mistake: a fault in addition.
a misdeed or transgression: to confess one's faults.
Sports. (in tennis, handball, etc.)
- a ball that when served does not land in the proper section of an opponent's court.
- a failure to serve the ball according to the rules, as from within a certain area.
Geology, Mining. a break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture (fault plane ).
Manège. (of a horse jumping in a show) any of a number of improper executions in negotiating a jump, as a tick, knockdown, refusal, or run-out.
Electricity. a partial or total local failure in the insulation or continuity of a conductor or in the functioning of an electric system.
Hunting. a break in the line of scent; a losing of the scent; check.
Obsolete. lack; want.

verb (used without object)

to commit a fault; blunder; err.
Geology. to undergo faulting.

verb (used with object)

Geology. to cause a fault in.
to find fault with, blame, or censure.

Idioms about fault

at fault,
- open to censure; blameworthy: to be at fault for a mistake.
- in a dilemma; puzzled: to be at fault as to where to go.
- (of hounds) unable to find the scent.
find fault, to seek and make known defects or flaws; complain; criticize: He constantly found fault with my behavior.

to a fault, to an extreme degree; excessively: She was generous to a fault.

Origin of fault

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English faute, faulte, from Anglo-French, Middle French, from unattested Vulgar Latin fallita, noun use of feminine of unattested fallitus, for Latin falsus, past participle of fallere “to be wrong”

synonym study For fault

1. Fault, failing, foible, weakness, vice imply shortcomings or imperfections in a person. Fault is the common word used to refer to any of the average shortcomings of a person; when it is used, condemnation is not necessarily implied: A quick temper is her greatest fault. Foible, failing, weakness all tend to excuse the person referred to. Of these foible is the mildest, suggesting a weak point that is slight and often amusing, manifesting itself in eccentricity rather than in wrongdoing: the foibles of artists. Weakness suggests that the person in question is unable to control a particular impulse, and gives way to self-indulgence: a weakness for pretty women. Failing is closely akin to fault, except that it is particularly applied to humanity at large, suggesting common, often venial, shortcomings: Procrastination and making excuses are common failings. Vice (which may also apply to a sin in itself, apart from a person: the vice of gambling ) is the strongest term, and designates a habit that is truly detrimental or evil.

Other words for fault

1	blemish; frailty, shortcoming

See synonyms for fault on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for fault

1	virtue, strength, merit; perfection

See antonyms for fault on Thesaurus.com

Other words from fault

post·fault, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fault in a sentence

Christie may have his faults, but he oozes the everyman persona.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug? | Matt Lewis | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Anything to make the protestors look bad and the police good, but there are faults on both sides.
Ferguson Tensions in Black and White | Seth Ferranti | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Dubya, for all his manifest faults, is a very gregarious guy.
Harry Shearer on Being Nixon, ‘The Simpsons Movie’ Sequel, and Why Obama Should Return His Nobel | Marlow Stern | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
At least Marnie, for her myriad faults, acknowledges that they exist.
The Excellent Season 3 Finale of ‘Girls’ Caps Off Its Best Season Yet | Marlow Stern | March 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He knows his furniture, each of his trees, every log in his cabin—faults and graces—all on a personal basis.
Pete Dexter’s Indelible Portrait of Author Norman Maclean | Pete Dexter | March 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I came here, as I supposed, a fairly good Christian, with an average amount of piety and an average number of faults.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson Lloyd
It was wise in him to do so, and thus to draw men's thoughts from Planner's faults to his own unquestioned merits.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
Still, though he had committed great faults, he had shown a surprising ability in extricating himself from their consequences.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Nevertheless (through too much kindness), all these faults were pardoned after they had been looked into.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614 | Various
He should give the bailee notice of all the faults in the thing bailed that would expose him to danger or loss in keeping it.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for fault

fault

/ (fɔːlt) /

noun

an imperfection; failing or defect; flaw
a mistake or error

an offence; misdeed
responsibility for a mistake or misdeed; culpability
electronics a defect in a circuit, component, or line, such as a short circuit
geology a fracture in the earth's crust resulting in the relative displacement and loss of continuity of the rocks on either side of it
tennis squash badminton an invalid serve, such as one that lands outside a prescribed area
(in showjumping) a penalty mark given for failing to clear or refusing a fence, exceeding a time limit, etc
hunting an instance of the hounds losing the scent
deficiency; lack; want
at fault
- guilty of error; culpable
- perplexed
- (of hounds) having temporarily lost the scent
find fault to seek out minor imperfections or errors (in); carp (at)
to a fault excessively

verb

geology to undergo or cause to undergo a fault
(tr) to find a fault in, criticize, or blame

(intr) to commit a fault

Origin of fault

C13: from Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin fallita (unattested), ultimately from Latin fallere to fail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fault

fault

[ fôlt ]

A fracture in a rock formation along which there has been movement of the blocks of rock on either side of the plane of fracture. Faults are caused by plate-tectonic forces. See more at normal fault reverse fault strike-slip fault thrust fault transform fault. See Note at earthquake.

a closer look

Bedrock, the solid rock just below the soil, is often cracked along surfaces known as planes. Cracks can extend up to hundreds of kilometers in length. When tensional and compressional stresses cause rocks separated by a crack to move past each other, the crack is known as a fault. Faults can be horizontal, vertical, or oblique. The movement can occur in the sudden jerks known as earthquakes. Normal faults, or tensional faults, occur when the rocks above the fault plane move down relative to the rocks below it, pulling the rocks apart. Where there is compression and folding, such as in mountainous regions, the rocks above the plane move upward relative to the rocks below the plane; these are called reverse faults. Strike-slip faults occur when shearing stress causes rocks on either side of the crack to slide parallel to the fault plane between them. Transform faults are strike-slip faults in which the crack is part of a boundary between two tectonic plates. A well-known example is the San Andreas Fault in California. Geologists use sightings of displaced outcroppings to infer the presence of faults, and they study faults to learn the history of the forces that have acted on rocks.

Cultural definitions for fault

fault

In geology, a place where sections of the crust of the Earth move relative to each other. (See earthquake and San Andreas fault.)

Notes for fault

Faults tend to occur near the edges of tectonic plates.

Other Idioms and Phrases with fault

fault

see at fault; find fault; to a fault.

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