fault
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fault
(fôlt)n.
1.
a. A character weakness, especially a minor one.
b. Something that impairs or detracts from physical perfection; a defect. See Synonyms at blemish.
c. A mistake; an error: a grammatical fault; a fault in his reasoning.
d. A minor offense or misdeed: committed her share of youthful faults.
2. Responsibility for a mistake or an offense; culpability. See Synonyms at blame.
3. Geology A fracture in the continuity of a rock formation caused by a shifting or dislodging of the earth's crust, in which adjacent surfaces are displaced relative to one another and parallel to the plane of fracture. Also called shift.
4. Electronics A defect in a circuit or wiring caused by imperfect connections, poor insulation, grounding, or shorting.
5. Sports A service of the ball that violates the rules in tennis and similar games.
6. Archaic A lack or deficiency.
v. fault·ed, fault·ing, faults
v.tr.
1. To find error or defect in; criticize or blame: faulted the author for poor research; faulted the book for inaccuracies.
2. Geology To produce a fault in; fracture.
v.intr.
Idioms: 1. To commit a mistake or an error.
2. Geology To shift so as to produce a fault.
3. Sports To commit a fault, as in tennis.
at fault
1. Deserving of blame; guilty: admitted to being at fault.
2. Confused and puzzled.
find fault
To seek, find, and complain about faults; criticize: found fault with his speech.
to a fault
To an excessive degree: generous to a fault.
[Middle English faulte, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *fallita, from variant of Latin falsa, feminine past participle of fallere, to deceive, fail.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fault
(fɔːlt)n
1. an imperfection; failing or defect; flaw
2. a mistake or error
3. an offence; misdeed
4. responsibility for a mistake or misdeed; culpability
5. (Electrical Engineering) electronics a defect in a circuit, component, or line, such as a short circuit
6. (Geological Science) 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
7. (Tennis) tennis squash badminton an invalid serve, such as one that lands outside a prescribed area
8. (Squash & Fives) tennis squash badminton an invalid serve, such as one that lands outside a prescribed area
9. (Badminton) tennis squash badminton an invalid serve, such as one that lands outside a prescribed area
10. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) (in showjumping) a penalty mark given for failing to clear or refusing a fence, exceeding a time limit, etc
11. (Hunting) hunting an instance of the hounds losing the scent
12. deficiency; lack; want
13. guilty of error; culpable
14. perplexed
15. (Hunting) (of hounds) having temporarily lost the scent
16. find fault to seek out minor imperfections or errors (in); carp (at)
17. to a fault excessively
vb
18. (Geological Science) geology to undergo or cause to undergo a fault
19. (tr) to find a fault in, criticize, or blame
20. (intr) to commit a fault
[C13: from Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin fallita (unattested), ultimately from Latin fallere to fail]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
fault
(fɔlt)n.
1. a defect or imperfection; flaw; failing.
2. responsibility for failure or a wrongful act.
3. an error or mistake.
4. a misdeed or transgression.
5. (in tennis, handball, etc.)
a. a ball that when served does not land in the proper section of an opponent's court.
b. a failure to serve the ball according to the rules, as from within a certain area.
6. a break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture (fault plane).
7. Obs. lack; want.
v.i. 8. to commit a fault; blunder; err.
9. Geol. to undergo faulting.
v.t. 10. to accuse of error; criticize.
Idioms: 1. at fault, open to censure; blameworthy.
2. find fault, to complain or be critical.
3. to a fault, to an extreme degree.
[1250–1300; Middle English faute < Anglo-French, Middle French « Latin fallere to be wrong]
syn: fault, foible, weakness, failing, vice refer to human shortcomings or imperfections. fault refers to any ordinary shortcoming; condemnation is not necessarily implied: Of his many faults the greatest is vanity. foible suggests a weak point that is slight and often amusing, manifesting itself in eccentricity rather than in wrongdoing: the foibles of an artist. weakness suggests that a person is unable to control a particular impulse or response, and gives way to it: a weakness for ice cream. failing is particularly applied to humanity at large, suggesting common, often venial, shortcomings: Procrastination is a common failing. vice is the strongest term and designates a habit that is detrimental, immoral, or evil: to succumb to the vice of compulsive gambling.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
left to right: normal, reverse, and strike-slip faults
fault
(fôlt) A crack in a rock mass along which there has been movement. The rock on one side of the crack moves relative to the rock on the other side of the crack. Faults are caused by plate-tectonic forces. See Note at earthquake.
Did You Know? Bedrock is often cracked along surfaces known as planes. In some places the cracks extend only a tiny distance; in others they can run for hundreds of miles. When the rocks separated by a crack move past each other, the cracks are known as faults. The rocks move because they are pushed or pulled by the forces of plate tectonics. This movement often occurs in sudden jerks known as earthquakes. Geologists study faults to learn the history of the forces that have acted on rocks. Normal faults occur when rocks are being pulled apart. In this case, the rocks above the fault plane are moving down relative to the rocks below it. When rocks are pushed together, the opposite happens—the rocks above the plane move upward relative to the rocks below the plane; these types of faults are called reverse faults. Strike-slip faults occur when rocks slide past each other; rocks on either side of the crack slide parallel to the fault plane between them. Transform faults are a special category of strike-slip faults in which the crack is actually part of a boundary between two enormous tectonic plates. This is the nature of the famous San Andreas Fault in California.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
blame
– fault1. 'blame' used as a verb
If you blame someone for something bad that has happened, you think that they made it happen.
Police blamed the bus driver for the accident.
Don't blame me!
You can blame something on someone.
Maya blames all her problems on her parents.
2. 'to blame'
If someone is to blame for something bad that has happened, they caused it.
I knew I was partly to blame for the failure of the project.
The study found that schools are not to blame for the laziness of their pupils.
3. 'fault'
Don't say that something is someone's 'blame'. You say that it is their fault.
This was all Jack's fault.
It's not our fault if the machine breaks down.
4. 'at fault'
You can say that someone is at fault.
The other driver was at fault.
Be Careful!
Don't say that someone is 'in fault'.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
fault
Past participle: faulted
Gerund: faulting
| Imperative |
|---|
| fault |
| fault |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
fault
1. A fracture zone where one rock mass has moved against another.
2. A service that lands in the net or outside the receiver’s service court.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  fault - a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"nonaccomplishment, nonachievement - an act that does not achieve its intended goal blot, smirch, smear, stain, spot - an act that brings discredit to the person who does it; "he made a huge blot on his copybook" mix-up, confusion - a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another; "he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw" incursion - the mistake of incurring liability or blame distortion - the mistake of misrepresenting the facts parapraxis, slip-up, miscue, slip - a minor inadvertent mistake usually observed in speech or writing or in small accidents or memory lapses etc. offside - (sport) the mistake of occupying an illegal position on the playing field (in football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey, etc.) |
| 2. |  fault - an imperfection in an object or machine; "a flaw caused the crystal to shatter"; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer"imperfection, imperfectness - the state or an instance of being imperfect blister - a flaw on a surface resulting when an applied substance does not adhere (as an air bubble in a coat of paint) hole - a fault; "he shot holes in my argument" | |
| 3. | fault - the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection; "they discussed the merits and demerits of her novel"; "he knew his own faults much better than she did" worth - the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful | |
| 4. |  fault - (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks fault line - (geology) line determined by the intersection of a geological fault and the earth's surface inclined fault - a geological fault in which one side is above the other strike-slip fault - a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally | |
| 5. | fault - (electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.); "it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it" electronics - the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown" | |
| 6. |  fault - responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault"responsibleness, responsibility - a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct; "he holds a position of great responsibility" | |
| 7. |  fault - (sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"double fault - (tennis) two successive faults in serving resulting in the loss of the point footfault - a fault that occurs when the server in tennis fails to keep both feet behind the baseline squash rackets, squash racquets, squash - a game played in an enclosed court by two or four players who strike the ball with long-handled rackets badminton - a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net lawn tennis, tennis - a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court | |
| Verb | 1. |  fault - put or pin the blame on |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
fault
noun
1. responsibility, liability, guilt, accountability, culpability It was all my fault we quarrelled.
2. mistake, slip, error, offence, blunder, lapse, negligence, omission, boob (Brit. slang), oversight, slip-up, indiscretion, inaccuracy, howler (informal), glitch (informal), error of judgment, boo-boo (informal) It was a genuine fault.
3. failing, lack, weakness, defect, deficiency, flaw, drawback, shortcoming, snag, blemish, imperfection, Achilles heel, weak point, infirmity, demerit His manners always made her blind to his faults.
failing credit, strength, asset, merit, attribute, virtue, goodness, perfection
failing credit, strength, asset, merit, attribute, virtue, goodness, perfection
4. misdeed, failing, wrong, offence, sin, lapse, misconduct, wrongdoing, trespass, frailty, misdemeanour, delinquency, transgression, peccadillo Hypocrisy is one fault of which he cannot be accused.
verb
1. criticize, blame, complain, condemn, moan about, censure, hold (someone) responsible, hold (someone) accountable, find fault with, call to account, impugn, find lacking, hold (someone) to blame You can't fault them for lack of invention.
at fault guilty, responsible, to blame, accountable, in the wrong, culpable, answerable, blamable He didn't accept that he was at fault.
find fault with something or someone criticize, complain about, whinge about (informal), whine about (informal), flame (informal), quibble, diss (slang, chiefly U.S.), carp at, take to task, pick holes in, grouse about (informal), haul over the coals (informal), pull to pieces I do tend to find fault with everybody.
to a fault excessively, overly (U.S.), unduly, ridiculously, in the extreme, needlessly, out of all proportion, preposterously, overmuch, immoderately He was generous to a fault.
Quotations
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,"
"But in ourselves" [William Shakespeare Julius Caesar]
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,"
"But in ourselves" [William Shakespeare Julius Caesar]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
fault
noun1. An imperfection of character:
2. Something that mars the appearance or causes inadequacy or failure:
3. Responsibility for an error or crime:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
خَطَأزمبعَيْب، نَقيصَهيُخَطِّئ، يُعيب، يَنْتَقِدتَصَدُّع ، إنكِسار في الأرْض
chybanalézt/vytknout chybuporucharozsedlinavada
fejlforkastningkritisererakke ned påskyld
peko
vika
greškagrješkakrivnjamanarasjed
hibavetõdés
finna aî, gagnrÿnagallijarîsprunga; misgengimistök
責任
과실
defektaskaµtaskabinėtis prieneteisusper daug
atrast kļūdubojājumsdefektskļūdaplaisa
hibă
chybanájsť chybuzlom
grajatihibakrivdanapaka
fel
ข้อผิดพลาด
lỗi
fault
[fɔːlt]A. N
1. (= defect) (in character) → defecto m; (in manufacture) → defecto m, falla f (LAm); (in supply, machine) → avería f
with all his faults → con todos sus defectos
her fault is excessive shyness → peca de tímida
generous to a fault → excesivamente generoso
to find fault → poner reparos
to find fault with sth/sb → criticar algo/a algn
with all his faults → con todos sus defectos
her fault is excessive shyness → peca de tímida
generous to a fault → excesivamente generoso
to find fault → poner reparos
to find fault with sth/sb → criticar algo/a algn
2. (= blame, responsibility) → culpa f
it's all your fault → tú tienes toda la culpa
it's not my fault → no es culpa mía
you were at fault in not telling us → hiciste mal en no decírnoslo
your memory is at fault → no te acuerdas bien
you were not at fault → no por culpa suya
through no fault of his own → sin falta alguna de su parte
whose fault is it (if ...)? → ¿quién tiene la culpa (si ...)?
it's all your fault → tú tienes toda la culpa
it's not my fault → no es culpa mía
you were at fault in not telling us → hiciste mal en no decírnoslo
your memory is at fault → no te acuerdas bien
you were not at fault → no por culpa suya
through no fault of his own → sin falta alguna de su parte
whose fault is it (if ...)? → ¿quién tiene la culpa (si ...)?
3. (Tennis) → falta f
4. (Geol) → falla f
B. VT → criticar
it cannot be faulted → es intachable
you cannot fault him on spelling → su ortografía es impecable
it cannot be faulted → es intachable
you cannot fault him on spelling → su ortografía es impecable
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
fault
[ˈfɔːlt] n
(thing of which one is guilty) → faute f
It's my fault → C'est de ma faute.
Whose fault was it? → C'était la faute de qui?
sb's own fault
It's his own fault → Il ne peut s'en prendre qu'à lui-même.
through no fault of his own → sans qu'il y soit pour quoi que ce soit
through no fault of their own → sans qu'ils y soient pour quoi que ce soit
at fault → fautif/ive, coupable no-fault divorce
It's my fault → C'est de ma faute.
Whose fault was it? → C'était la faute de qui?
sb's own fault
It's his own fault → Il ne peut s'en prendre qu'à lui-même.
through no fault of his own → sans qu'il y soit pour quoi que ce soit
through no fault of their own → sans qu'ils y soient pour quoi que ce soit
at fault → fautif/ive, coupable no-fault divorce
(= defect, flaw) (in machine, system, material) → défaut m; (in person) → défaut m
There's a fault in this material → Ce tissu a un défaut.
a mechanical fault → une défaillance mécanique
a technical fault → une défaillance technique
to find fault with sb/sth → trouver à redire à qn/qch, trouver à critiquer à qn/qch
to a fault → à l'excès
There's a fault in this material → Ce tissu a un défaut.
a mechanical fault → une défaillance mécanique
a technical fault → une défaillance technique
to find fault with sb/sth → trouver à redire à qn/qch, trouver à critiquer à qn/qch
to a fault → à l'excès
(= crack) (in the earth's surface) → faille f
(TENNIS) → faute f double fault
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
fault
n
(= mistake, defect) → Fehler m; (Tech) → Defekt m; generous to a fault → übermäßig großzügig; to find fault with somebody/something → etwas an jdm/etw auszusetzen haben; he was at fault → er war im Unrecht; my memory was at fault → mein Gedächtnis hat mich getrogen; you were at fault in not telling me → es war nicht recht von Ihnen, dass Sie mir das nicht gesagt haben
no pl it won’t be my/his fault if … → es ist nicht meine/seine Schuld, wenn …, ich bin/er ist nicht schuld,wenn …; whose fault is it? → wer ist schuld (daran)?; it’s all your own fault → das ist Ihre eigene Schuld, Sie sind selbst schuld; through no fault of her own, she … → es war nicht ihre eigene Schuld, dass sie …
(Geol) → Verwerfung f
(Tennis, Horseriding) → Fehler m
vt
→ Fehler finden an (+dat), → etwas auszusetzen haben an (+dat); I can’t fault it/him → ich habe nichts daran/an ihm auszusetzen
(Geol) → eine Verwerfung verursachen in (+dat)
vi (Geol) → sich verwerfen
fault
:fault-finder
n → Krittler(in) m(f)
fault-finding
adj → krittelig
n → Krittelei f
fault
:fault line
n (Geol) → Verwerfungslinie f
fault-tolerant
adj (Tech, Comput) → fehlertolerant
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
fault
[fɔːlt]1. n
a. (defect) → difetto; (mistake) → errore m (Tennis) → fault m inv, fallo (Geol) → faglia
generous to a fault → eccessivamente generoso/a
to find fault with sb/sth → trovare da ridire su qn/qc
to be at fault → avere torto
your memory is at fault → non ricordi bene
generous to a fault → eccessivamente generoso/a
to find fault with sb/sth → trovare da ridire su qn/qc
to be at fault → avere torto
your memory is at fault → non ricordi bene
2. vt → trovare da ridire su, criticare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
fault
(foːlt) noun1. a mistake; something for which one is to blame. The accident was your fault.
2. an imperfection; something wrong. There is a fault in this machine; a fault in his character.
3. a crack in the rock surface of the earth. faults in the earth's crust.
verb to find fault with. I couldn't fault him / his piano-playing.
ˈfaultless adjective without fault; perfect. a faultless performance.
ˈfaultlessly adverbˈfaulty adjective
(usually of something mechanical) not made or working correctly.
at fault wrong or to blame. She was at fault.
find fault with to criticize or complain of. She is always finding fault with the way he eats.
to a fault to too great an extent. She was generous to a fault.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
fault
→ خَطَأ vina fejl Schuld ατέλεια culpa vika faute greška colpa 責任 과실 schuld feiltrinn błąd culpa вина fel ข้อผิดพลาด hata lỗi 故障Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
fault
n. falta, defecto, culpa;
v.
to be at ___ → ser culpable.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009