fault

SayFAWLT/fɔlt//fɔːlt/

Pluralfaults (some meanings)

Verbfaults, faulting, faulted

18 meanings of fault

Practice

1
blamenoununcountable
The blame for something bad that happened or went wrong.
Like pointing at the person who knocked over the glass.
The accident was not her fault.
They argued for an hour about whose fault the broken window was.
UsageSay it's my fault or someone is at fault.
Similarblame, responsibility, liability, culpability
Oppositecredit
Note
2
flaw (things)nouncountable
Something wrong with a thing, such as a weak spot in how it is made, that stops it working well.
The store gave her a new phone because the first one had a fault.
The plan had one big fault: it cost far too much money.
UsageLike flaw: something has a fault, as in a design fault.
Similardefect, flaw
3
a crack in rocknouncountable
A crack in the earth's rock where the rock on one side has moved against the other side.
Like a crack in a sidewalk where one side has lifted higher than the other.
The earthquake happened along a fault deep underground.
Geologists mapped the fault running beneath the valley.
Similarfracture
Note
4
criticizeverbtransitive
To say that someone or something is wrong or not good enough.
Like pointing out what someone did wrong.
You can't fault him for trying his best.
She faulted the design for being too complicated.
UsageSay fault someone for something; you can't fault him means you cannot fairly criticize or blame him.
Similarcriticize, blame, censure, condemn, impugn
Oppositepraise, commend, applaud
5
character flawnouncountable
A bad thing about a person's character, usually a small one, like being impatient or too proud.
Like a habit that quietly leads you into trouble.
Being too trusting can be a fault that puts you in danger.
His habit of agreeing to everything turned out to be a real fault.
UsageUsually a small weakness in someone's character: we all have our faults.
Note
6
mistakenouncountable
A mistake, or a small wrong thing that someone does.
The only fault in her essay was one wrong date.
She played the whole song without a single fault.
UsageWithout a single fault means with no mistakes at all.
7
electric circuitnouncountable
A bad connection or break in an electric circuit.
Like a wrong wire touching another and making a spark.
A fault in the wiring caused the lights to flicker.
Electricians traced the fault to a damaged cable.
Similarmalfunction, break
Note
8
break and shiftverbintransitive
For rock, to crack along a line so that one side moves against the other side.
Like a cracker breaking apart along a line.
The rock layers faulted during the powerful earthquake.
Over millions of years, the crust can fault and shift.
UsageOften as an adjective: faulted rock has cracked and moved.
Similarfracture, rupture, crack, break, shear

Less common meanings

9
illegal servenouncountable
A serve that breaks the rules in tennis and does not count.
Like throwing a ball outside the lines when you have to aim inside.
Her first serve was a fault, so she had to try again.
He hit two faults in a row and lost the point.
UsageTwo faults in a row are a double fault.
Note
10
nouncountable
A problem that comes up while a program is running and has to be handled, such as a bad memory access.
Like a sudden hiccup that makes a machine stop what it is doing.
A memory fault made the app crash while it was taking a payment.
The program hit a fault and closed in the middle of my work.
Similarerror, bug, exception, glitch
Note
11
make an errorverbintransitive
To make a mistake or do something wrong.
Like slipping up when you are trying your hardest.
Players often fault on their second serve when they feel nervous.
The horse faulted at the last jump and lost the round.
UsageSay a player faults on a serve or a horse faults at a jump.
Similarerr, slip, stumble, blunder
12
nouncountable
A penalty point given to a rider in horse contests like show jumping.
Like getting a penalty in a game when you break a rule.
The horse knocked down a rail, so the rider got four faults.
She finished the round without a single fault.
Similarpenalty
Note
13
bad taste (wine)nouncountable
An unwanted taste, smell, or other problem in food or drink, especially wine, often from spoiling.
Like the smell of a rotten egg that warns you food has gone bad.
The wine had a fault that made it smell like wet cardboard.
Tasters rejected the batch because of a clear fault in the flavor.
Similartaint
Note
14
lacknounobsolete
A lack or absence of something.
one, it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”Here, fault means lack, so for lack of a better one.
Note
15
verb
To stop briefly because a program needs data that is not yet loaded into memory.
16
noun
A place where something is split, stopped, or cut off, so it does not go on.
17
noun
A patch of dirt or rock that breaks into a layer of coal underground.
18
noun
A moment when a hunting dog loses the smell it was following.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of fault apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old French faute, from a Latin word meaning 'shortcoming', linked to the verb fallō 'to deceive'.

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Fault derives from Old French faute. en.wikipedia.org
Its Latin ancestor meant 'shortcoming'. en.wiktionary.org
The etymology is linked to Latin fallō, meaning 'to deceive'. en.wiktionary.org