: 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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Southern California Edison detected a fault on its transmission system near the time of the start of the Eaton Fire, according to a company filing with state regulators.—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2025 This is not entirely my fault—I was raised with E.R. reruns as background noise thanks to my mom, a fellow med-TV devotee—but by age 11, I was fully bought into the froth, fun, and occasionally frantic energy that accompanied our culture’s collective obsession with Grey’s Anatomy.—Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
The report equally faulted the yearslong development of the booster rocket under Dr. Lucas’s leadership.—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025 Almost immediately after the crash, President Trump publicly faulted the helicopter for flying too high.—Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 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
Share