fault
/fɔːlt
/ /fɒlt /noun
1An unattractive or unsatisfactory feature, especially in a piece of work or in a person’s character: my worst fault is impatience...
- Character faults and foibles surface slowly and are dealt with compassionately.
- He's a complex character with many faults and makes mistakes.
- Does your main character have faults of his own?
1.1A break or other defect in an electric circuit or piece of machinery: a fire caused by an electrical fault...
- The alarm was raised around 6.45 pm after an electrical fault caused the machine to ignite at the property in Hermes Way.
- The problems have been attributed to computer software failure and electrical faults.
- Time stood still for beer-lovers on campus last week, as the beer-taps at Eastside broke down due to an electrical fault.
Synonyms
defect, flaw, imperfection, snag;
error, mistake, inaccuracy, oversight, blunder, gaffe, slip;
Computing bug
informal glitch, gremlin, slip-up, boob, boo-boo, clanger, howler, foul-up, snarl-up
British informal cock-up
1.2A misguided action or habit: the fault of the keen therapist is to start to intervene during the assessment phase...
- I felt very emotional during the service, my lip trembling on several occasions, and I slipped into my usual fault of speaking softly when that happens.
- Indeed, if Monica has a fault, it's an excessively trusting nature, a habit of putting loyalty before sense.
Synonyms
defect, failing, imperfection, flaw, blemish, shortcoming, weakness, weak point, weak spot, frailty, foible, vice, limitation, lack, deficiency, Achilles heel, chink in one's armour
1.3(In tennis and similar games) a service of the ball not in accordance with the rules.All tosses should be hit: if they throw the ball up, it's going to be a fault if they catch it.
1.4 (usually faults) (In showjumping) a penalty point imposed for an error.Ben showed great determination and skill over both courses putting up seven faults in show-jumping and a superb clear over the cross-country course....
- Ward scored four faults on each mount with Sasha getting the higher placing based on a better time over the 15-jump course.
- Torano scored four faults for one rail down at the sixth fence and finished with a time of 41.148 seconds.
2 [mass noun] Responsibility for an accident or misfortune: if books were not selling, it wasn’t the fault of the publishers it was his fault she had died...
- That fact, however, does not, in my judgment, acquit the claimant of any responsibility or fault for the accident that so arises.
- These signs will provide some recognition for road victims who died through no fault of their own.
- These 18 people died through no fault of their own.
Synonyms
responsibility, liability, culpability, blameworthiness, guilt;
accountability, answerability
informal rap
3 Geology An extended break in a rock formation, marked by the relative displacement and discontinuity of strata on either side of a particular plane: a landscape broken by numerous faults [as modifier]: the fault plane dips northwards...
- Most transform faults are found on the ocean floor.
- Questions have also been raised over the possibility of a earthquake fault line nearby.
- Iranian leaders have promised to rebuild the town, which is on a major earthquake fault line.
verb
1 [with object, usually with negative] Criticize for inadequacy or mistakes: her superiors could not fault her dedication to the job you cannot fault him for the professionalism of his approach...
- So he can't fault us for raising these questions now.
- While I can't fault her for professionalism, at the very least I would have expected a smile, or, really, any show of emotion at all.
- Of course, the group is composed of ‘creative types’ so you can't fault them for being creative with the truth.
Synonyms
find fault with, find lacking;
criticize, attack, censure, condemn, impugn, reproach, reprove, run down, take to task, haul over the coals;
complain about, quibble about, carp about, moan about, grouse about, grouch about, whine about, arraign
informal knock, slam, hammer, lay into, gripe about, beef about, bellyache about, bitch about, whinge about, nitpick over, pick holes in, sound off about
British informal slag off, have a go at, give some stick to, slate, rubbish
1.1 [no object] archaic Do wrong: the people of Caesarea faulted greatly when they called King Herod a god...
- Each time she faulted, she would silently curse herself as the wrong note amplified itself in the empty hall.
- She faulted, and the linesman, as ever, shouted ‘out’.
2 (be faulted) Geology (Of a rock formation) be broken by a fault or faults: the continental crust has been thinned and faulted as a result of geological processes (as noun faulting) a complex pattern of faulting...
- Does lithology account for the very different patterns of faulting in the Permian sandstones and dolostones?
- The seismic data show faulting of the subsurface sediments, possibly as dikes were injected into the center of the basin.
- The original form of these basins has been modified by subsequent faulting, Red Sea rift flank uplift, and erosion.
Phrases
at fault
find fault
—— to a fault
Origin
Middle English faut(e) 'lack, failing', from Old French, based on Latin fallere 'deceive'. The -l- was added (in French and English) in the 15th century to conform with the Latin word, but did not become standard in English until the 17th century, remaining silent in pronunciation until well into the 18th.
false from Old English:
Along with default (Middle English), fail (Middle English), and fault (Middle English), false comes from Latin fallere ‘to deceive’. A false dawn is a light which in Eastern countries is briefly seen about an hour before sunrise. The expression, the translation of an Arabic phrase, is often used to describe a promising situation which has, or is likely to, come to nothing.