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fault Definition

fault (fôlt)

noun

  1. Obsolete failure to have or do what is required; lack
  2. something that mars the appearance, character, structure, etc.; defect or failing
  3. something done wrongly; specif.,
    1. a misdeed; offense
    2. an error; mistake
  4. responsibility for something wrong; blame it's her fault that they are late
  5. Elec. a defect or point of defect in the wiring or connections of a circuit, which prevents the current from following the intended path
  6. Geol. a fracture or zone of fractures in rock strata together with movement that displaces the sides relative to one another
  7. Hunting a break in the line of the scent
  8. Volleyball, Tennis
    1. an improper serve; specif., a serve that hits the net or lands outside the court
    2. a ball improperly served

Etymology: ME faute < OFr faulte, a lack < VL *fallita < *fallitus, for L falsus: see false

transitive verb

  1. to find fault with; blame or criticize
  2. Geol. to cause a fault in

intransitive verb

  1. to commit a fault: archaic except in racket sports
  2. Geol. to develop a fault

fault Idioms

at fault

  1. unable to find the scent: said of hunting dogs
  2. not knowing what to do; perplexed
  3. guilty of error; deserving blame

find fault (with)

to seek and point out faults (of); complain (about); criticize

to a fault

too much; excessively

fault Synonyms

fault

n.

  1. An imperfection

    flaw, defect, shortcoming, deficiency; see blemish, defect 2.

  2. A moral delinquency

    misdemeanor, weakness, failing, foible, vice, offense, wrongdoing, misdeed, transgression, crime, sin, impropriety, solecism, moral shortcoming, frailty, evil doing, delinquency, trespass, fall from virtue, fall from grace, loss of innocence, misconduct, dereliction, malpractice, malefaction, malfeasance, peccadillo, sins of omission and commission.

  3. An error

    blunder, mistake, lapse; see error 1.

  4. Responsibility

    liability, accountability, blame; see guilt, responsibility 2.

fault, in this comparison, refers to a definite, although not strongly condemnatory, imperfection in character her only fault is stubbornness; failing implies an even less serious shortcoming, usually a common one tardiness was one of his failings; weakness applies to a minor shortcoming that results from a lack of perfect self-control talking too much is my weakness; foible refers to a slight weakness that is regarded more as an amusing idiosyncrasy than an actual defect in character eating desserts first is one of his foibles; vice, although stronger in its implication of moral failure than any of the preceding terms, does not in this connection necessarily suggest actual depravity or wickedness gambling is his only vice

at fault

culpable, blamable, in the wrong; see guilty 2.

find fault with

complain about, carp at, criticize; see censure.

to a fault

too much, excessively, to excess; see very.

fault Synonyms

fault

v.

blame, criticize, charge, accuse; see censure.

fault Law Definition

n

A negligent or intentional failure to act reasonably or according to law or duty; an act or omission giving rise to a criminal indictment or a civil tort lawsuit.

fault Usage Examples

Possessives

nobody: It's nobody's fault, it's just one of those things.

Converse of object

  • rectify: Solution Fitting a new temperature sender should rectify this fault.
  • diagnose: A description of the problem you are having will also help to diagnose the fault.
  • fix: Emergency maintenance involves: reacting immediately to a problem working out the cause of a fault fixing faults.
  • detect: The psychology of testing will be discussed; detecting faults versus proving correct.

Adjective modifier

  • intermittent: I was really taken aback when I discovered a relay problem causing an intermittent fault on receive!
  • electrical: An electrical fault started the blaze, which gutted the shed.
  • geological: Scotland ' s longest Glen, and the UK ' s greatest geological fault, is 73 miles long.
  • minor: For minor faults, engineers endeavor to respond within 24 hours.
  • glaring: Nearly every one of his most glaring non-partisan faults has been exposed brutally and on a massive scale.
  • obscure: I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause.

Modifies a noun

  • tolerance: Fault tolerance: Mobile agents do not require a continuous connection between machines.
  • diagnosis: Often the additional insight provided by an accurate process model is required in order to make an accurate fault diagnosis.
  • finding: A successful track record in electrical design and site test, commissioning and fault finding on rotating machines and controls.
  • detection: A new technique for fault detection in multi-sensor probes.
  • michigan: Of seaworld auto fault insurance michigan no orlando the pepsi theater a concept known.

Noun used with modifier

  • segmentation: No segmentation faults, only occasional unending loops for the programmers that still hang on to program their own loops.
  • thrust: With a thrust fault, whose plane is inclined to the Earth's surface, one side moves upward over the other.
  • hardware: I suspect my computer has developed a hardware fault.
  • wasat: Broader picture smith wasat fault in getting rid the last auto.

Browse dictionary entries near fault

  1. ‹ Faulkner,William Harrison
  2. ‹ Faulkner
  3. ‹ faugh
  4. ‹ faucet
  5. ‹ fauces
  6. ‹ faucal
  7. ‹ faubourg
  8. ‹ fatwood
  9. ‹ fatware
  10. ‹ fatwa
  1. fault line ›
  2. fault management ›
  3. faulted ›
  4. faultfinder ›
  5. faultfinding ›
  6. faultless ›
  7. faulty ›
  8. faun ›
  9. fauna ›
  10. Faunus ›