: a fracture in the crust of a planet (such as the earth) or moon accompanied by a displacement of one side of the fracture with respect to the other usually in a direction parallel to the fracture
Frequent earthquakes have occurred along the San Andreas Fault.
fault implies a failure, not necessarily culpable, to reach some standard of perfection in disposition, action, or habit.
a writer of many virtues and few faults
failing suggests a minor shortcoming in character.
being late is a failing of mine
frailty implies a general or chronic proneness to yield to temptation.
human frailties
foible applies to a harmless or endearing weakness or idiosyncrasy.
an eccentric's charming foibles
vice can be a general term for any imperfection or weakness, but it often suggests violation of a moral code or the giving of offense to the moral sensibilities of others.
compulsive gambling was his vice
Examples of fault in a Sentence
Noun
Lack of courage is his worst fault.
If the book has a fault, it's that it's too long.
It's your own fault you missed that bus.
Through no fault of his own, he won't be able to attend the meeting.
She committed too many faults to win the match. Verb
The truck driver was faulted for the accident.
Many have faulted her for not acting sooner.
I can't fault him for trying to protect his family.
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Noun
Jones said the 49ers’ two biggest blunders Sunday were his fault.—Matt Barrows, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025 Its perfectly circular shape, central peak, and ring of faults looked suspiciously like an impact crater.—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
Verb
Without load and stress testing under realistic conditions, inefficiencies in scaling, response time or fault tolerance may remain undetected.—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025 Many members of the Venezuelan opposition, Straka said, have long relished calling out government supporters for treating Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s predecessor, as a messiah, but they can be faulted for believing, with similar fervor, that American salvation is coming.—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fault
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English faute, falte, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *fallita, from feminine of fallitus, past participle of Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint
Note:
Sometimes when fault is used in legal contexts it includes negligence, sometimes it is considered synonymous with negligence, and sometimes it is distinguished from negligence. Fault and negligence are the usual bases for liability in the law of torts.
2
: responsibility for an act or omission that causes damage or injury to another
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